


Unbreakable Tie

by WolfieRed23



Series: Rebellion Requiem [1]
Category: Persona 2, Persona Series
Genre: Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, P2 Novelization
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-07
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2020-04-12 11:50:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 49,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19131448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfieRed23/pseuds/WolfieRed23
Summary: Some ties, no matter how stretched or pulled they may be, can never be broken. The bond between five children is one such tie, lasting through two lifetimes and still going strong today. You have heard the story of Akira Kurusu, the second Trickster. Now, hear the story of the first, from the two journeys to the eventual passing of the torch to the next generation. P2 novelization.





	1. An Unknown Grudge

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there! Quick note before we begin: this story has a lot of parts written already and will actually go beyond the plot of P2 once I'm done with it, all the way up to the beginning of P5. When we get there, a story of mine of fanfiction.net will come into play (I will eventually add that story over here as well, once I have P5R to add in and edit it up), so for those of you who want to know ahead of time, I am WolfieRed23 on FF too and the story you're looking for is Spirit of Rebellion. Also, as this story goes on, I will update tags to show new characters, relationships, etc. Okay, that's all then! Enjoy!

_There is a story very few people in the world know, despite the magnitude of this story's effects. It is a story of friendship, dreams, sacrifice and growing up, a story that spans two lifetimes and follows the Trickster, the Joker and the Moon, with the aid of the Lovers, the Death, the Empress, the Star, the Justice, the Hanged Man, the Hierophant and the Judgement. It is a story so few know because of their actions, actions that have allowed the world to exist as it does today. They have suffered for this outcome, so much, but I believe they are happy today, despite all the pain._

_Do you wish to hear it? Then gather around now. And listen carefully. It all began near the end of July in 1999 in Sumaru City…_

* * *

Tatsuya skillfully and carefully repaired his motorcycle. He wasn't surprised it wasn't starting, it often needed a tune up or two before he left school every day.

Still, today seemed to be taking longer than usual.

Thinking he'd fixed it, Tatsuya stood and turned on the bike, only for the engine to cut. Tatsuya shook his head with a sigh, his hand unconsciously reaching into his pocket to pull out the lighter he always carried and he habitually began to open and close it when his eye caught something.

"Hey…where's…?" He muttered.

"Yo…goin' somewhere?" A male voice sneered.

Tatsuya turned, only to find two thuggish looking students, a third year and a second year, standing behind them. He didn't know the thuggish third year at all, so he was probably in a different class then him. That meant they usually didn't interact with him at all. And, considering the situation, that probably meant…

"Heheh! That piece of crap ain't gonna start without this." The second year student, and the less thuggish of the two, laughed.

Tatsuya mentally sighed. He knew it. They stole the exact part he needed. He turned away from them and stared at his motorcycle, weighing what he should do in this situation.

"Nothin' to say, huh?" The third year student, the thuggish one, growled. "I don't like that prissy face of yours. You think you're hot shit, don't you?"

Tatsuya looked down at his lighter, flipped it open and closed one last time before he turned to the two students.

Before he could say or do anything, however, a strange sensation washed over him.

"What the-!?" Tatsuya whispered as he fell to his knees, clutching his head as pain stabbed into his skull.

He couldn't see anything, his vision swimming from the pain in his head, but he could hear clearly.

"D-dude…what's wrong with you!?" The thuggish student asked, his voice freaked out.

Tatsuya couldn't answer as the pain suddenly increased and he curled in on himself as a voice rang in his mind.

_"Take…my…hand…"_

"S-somethin's wrong here…this guy's sweating bullets…" The less thuggish student said.

Really? Tatsuya didn't feel sweat rolling down his face, all he felt was the stabbing pain as the voice spoke again.

_"Do not fear me…I am thou…thou art I…"_

Tatsuya gasped in pain, unable to form words to speak with.

The sound of a door opening and closing cut through the fog of pain clouding the brunette's mind and a voice spoke to match it.

"Alright, you three! What are you chuckleheads still doing here? The last bell rang a while ago." The voice, Principal Hanya's, said.

"P-Principal Hanya!? O-okay, sir! We'll go straight home and do our schoolwork! C'mon, man, let's go!" The thuggish student said before he presumably ran off.

Carefully, Tatsuya blinked and slowly stood up. The voice and pain had faded and his vision no longer swam, thankfully enough. Not that he'd thank Hanya for that. No way in hell.

The less thuggish student approached Tatsuya, who turned to face the second year with a cold expression.

"H-here, we're done borrowing this! Seeya!" The less thuggish student said before he too ran off.

Tatsuya simply grasped the part and returned to working on his motorcycle. It was his ride home, after all, he kinda needed it to work.

"Just so long as you understand, hahaha! Ahhh, what a delight children are!" Hanya laughed.

It sent chills down Tatsuya's spine and he refused to look up from his work to see the creepy smile he just knew was on the principal's face. He couldn't honestly understand why so many people liked him.

Suddenly, however, Hanya was right in front of Tatsuya's motorcycle and he had to force himself not to jump. He got lost in his own head as he was working, again.

"That goes for you too! Didn't you hear what I said!?" Hanya demanded. Tatsuya remained silent and just continued working on his motorcycle. Not like Hanya would understand, anyway. "Why won't you obey me!? This is unacceptable! You! Who are you and what class are you in!? State your name! C'mon, spit it out already!"

Sighing, Tatsuya stood up, unconsciously taking out his lighter to flip it open and closed once again.

"Tatsuya Suou." He stated, his face and voice carefully stoic.

"Ah, I should have known…you're that Tatsuya Suou I've heard rumors about." Hanya nodded to himself.

Tatsuya rolled his eyes as he turned away. Rumors were always spreading about him, it's not like they meant anything in the end, after all only a grain of every rumor is true.

"If that nasty resonance I sensed from the hall was you, it makes sense…looks like you're as much trouble as the rumors say." Hanya continued.

_Resonance?_ Tatsuya thought to himself, confused, even as he stayed silent, his thumb subconsciously running across the inscription on his lighter.

"Hahah…well, I'll let you alone. He'll be along to guide you soon enough. Enjoy what few moments are left of your youth." Hanya smirked before he finally turned and left Tatsuya alone.

The cool sweat on the back of Tatsuya's neck was the only evidence of his unease with those last words.

His musing, however, was cut short as another student, a third year boy, approached.

"Yo, looks like you got a raw deal. Then again, Principal Hanya's a great man, so I suggest you do what he says." The boy said.

"Yeah, whatever." Tatsuya stated, crossing his arms to try and hide his unease.

Apparently, the guy took his words the wrong way, considering he raised his hands up in surrender.

"Hey, no need to glare like that. I just came to say that Ms. Saeko is looking for you." He said.

"Guidance counseling…" Tatsuya muttered under his breath, realizing why his homeroom teacher was hunting him down. Damn, he forgot about that. What was the point of it anyway? All guidance counseling was, was another chance for him to awkwardly hold a conversation when he'd much rather be…anywhere else.

"You've been dodging guidance counseling, eh? She looked ready to chase you all the way to your house. Better go see her." The boy recommended.

Tatsuya silently nodded, sighing mentally. Now he had to hunt down his homeroom teacher. Great _._

* * *

It took Tatsuya a lot longer than he would've liked to hunt down Ms. Saeko. Usually, she was pretty easy to find, but apparently today she wasn't. He ended up having to walk through most of the school to find her, talking to every student he came across, which wasn't fun in the first place, but nobody seemed to notice his discomfort.

Hanya even had more strange words for him when Tatsuya ran into him in the courtyard.

Honestly, Tatsuya didn't know what 'the one under the star of stolen dreams has no right to have his ideals realized' meant and he really didn't think he wanted to find out considering _Hanya_ said those words to him.

In the end, Tatsuya _did_ find Ms. Saeko…right at the bike rack where he started, making his whole trip through the school a complete waste due to messages not being delivered on time.

"Ms. Saeko?" Tatsuya quietly called, getting the teacher's attention as he reached his bike. Hearing his voice, Ms. Saeko turned around with a smile.

"Aha, I thought you'd be here, Tatsuya. I figured it would be easier to wait for you by your baby here." She explained as she greeted him.

"I guess…" Tatsuya sighed as he turned away and leaned against his motorcycle. He had nothing against Ms. Saeko, but…guidance counseling…how was he supposed to do that when he didn't even know what he wanted to do with his life anymore?

"Don't worry, guidance counseling is a pretty informal process." Ms. Saeko reassured.

Tatsuya appreciated her reassurance, he really did, but…that wasn't the problem, and he was pretty sure nobody _could_ understand his problem. Even so, he looked up to the sky, took a deep breath and turned to face his teacher.

"Good, good." Ms. Saeko smiled brightly. "Well then! Have you decided what you want to do after graduation?"

"I guess." Tatsuya looked down to avoid her eyes as he answered.

"Is that so! You seemed indecisive for long enough, but I'm glad you did give it some thought." Ms. Saeko smiled, her voice taking on a proud quality. "And? Will you go to college or go job hunting?"

Looking down, Tatsuya reached into his pocket and took out his lighter, flicking it open and closed as he recalled an old memory.

" _I want to protect people, just like my dad!"_

"I…want to go to college…" he spoke softly, not even realizing the words slipped past his lips, the faint memory slipping away like sand on a beach, and he was left wondering where the words had come from.

"Oh, really! Is there something in particular you want to study?" Ms. Saeko asked, curious and her eyes alight.

Tatsuya stayed silent, biting his lip as he pocketed his lighter once again.

"If you're just saying what you think I want to hear, think harder. Do you really want to go to college?" The teacher questioned as the silence went on for too long.

"No, I…seriously do." Tatsuya shook his head, running his thumb against his lighter in his pocket. Just touching it…made him feel braver, like there was someone out there, someone who believed in him even when he himself didn't.

"Is that so…! Well then, I'm sure you'll do just fine! Good luck! I'll be cheering for you!" Ms. Saeko smiled and it was like staring in the sun. She stepped forward and placed her hand on his shoulder.

Feeling uncomfortable, Tatsuya moved away from her touch and faced his motorcycle, just to avoid her eyes if nothing else.

"Tatsuya…why do you put up walls like that? You look like you're in so much pain that I can't bear to see it…" Ms. Saeko commented, her voice sympathetic.

Tatsuya flicked his lighter, his eyes staring at the inscription on it as he thought. For the past ten years, pushing people away, building up walls, it was just…natural. It kept him safe when his shyness made him clam up, when his awkwardness made him feel like he didn't belong, when his anger and shame and disappointment in his family made being at home awful…

He was better off alone, none the least of which because he was distinctly uncomfortable around people at times.

"Oh, there you are! Hey! Tatsuya! Hold up, Tatsuya!" A female voice called.

Tatsuya stiffened instantly, the familiar uncomfortable sensation he always had whenever people pushed into his personal bubble washing over him.

Quickly, Tatsuya turned away so his back was to the girl, none other than Lisa Silverman, a girl with a huge crush on him (why, Tatsuya had no idea, but her friends, Sheba and Mee-ho had already scared him enough to keep him from breaking her heart, even if his shyness didn't already prevent him from saying a word), and instead faced Ms. Saeko.

"Wait…aiyah!" Lisa cried as she noticed Tatsuya wasn't alone.

"Lisa! What's all this hubbub about?" Ms. Saeko asked.

"Sorry-ia, Ms. Saeko! I have important business with Tatsuya here! Can I borrow him?" Lisa nervously asked.

Tatsuya prayed Ms. Saeko wouldn't agree.

"Well, alright…" Ms. Saeko shook her head. Her words caused Tatsuya to look up with wide, anxiety filled eyes. He hated interacting with people, especially those who wanted to get close to him. It made him so uncomfortable. Ms. Saeko, however, ignored his look entirely. "See you, Tatsuya." With that, she went back into the school.

Tatsuya leaned against his motorcycle, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart by flicking his lighter a few times.

"We have a problem, Tatsuya!" Lisa said as she walked around the motorcycle so she could look Tatsuya in the eyes. "Wait a sec…aiyah!" Before Tatsuya could question what she was doing, Lisa ripped his school emblem off his uniform.

Tatsuya sighed under his breath _._ _Great, Brother's gonna kill me now._

"I don't believe this! Why are you still wearing your emblem!? You DO know about the emblem curse, right?"

"Yeah, I just don't believe in rumors, especially ones like that." Tatsuya shrugged as he turned back to his motorcycle.

"Geez! I worry about you sometimes…" Lisa sighed, as if she was the long suffering one. "But oh yeah, that can wait! I got a challenge note for you! A guy from Cuss High told me to give it to you!"

Brow furrowed, Tatsuya turned around and took the letter Lisa held out. He opened it, allowing Lisa to read it over his shoulder as he did so.

_Tatsuya Suou:_

_We're holding a girl from your school hostage. If you value her life, come to Sumaru Prison alone._

_-Kasugayama High Boss_

_Michel Eikichi._

"Haime! Seriously!? Now that's old-school…I dunno, though, rumor has it this guy's really strong!" Lisa said as she backed away after she finished reading. "I also heard a rumor that it was a Cuss High jerk that cursed our emblem…I bet it was this same guy!"

Tatsuya said nothing as he pocketed the letter and straddled his motorcycle, helmet in hand.

"Tatsuya…you're going alone, huh?" Lisa asked, her voice soft.

"I can't just leave someone in trouble like that." Tatsuya stated, putting his helmet on his head.

"Knew it…but do you even know how to get to Sumaru Prison?" Lisa questioned.

Tatsuya was silent. It felt awkward to admit that he had lived in Sumaru his entire life and didn't know where something was, even if it was the prison.

Thankfully, Lisa didn't push him to answer when his silence spoke for him.

"I can at least show you the way! I don't want to sit around until the curse gets me too. Please, take me along!" Lisa said.

"Alright, here." Tatsuya said, handing Lisa his spare helmet and allowing her to climb onto his motorcycle behind him. "Hold on tight, okay?"

"Right." Lisa nodded, her arms tightly wrapping around his middle. Thankfully, she didn't make any kind of romantic comment or swoon against him. She was focused on what they were doing.

Tatsuya was grateful for that.

Without another word, Tatsuya lowered his visor, started his motorcycle and they drove off towards Sumaru Prison.

* * *

Once they got to Sumaru Prison and made their way inside, Tatsuya and Lisa found that the hostage was none other than Miyabi Hanakouji, also known as Kozy, and she looked quite comfortable, sitting in the prison and eating.

"H-hey! Is this chica really one of my fans!? That ain't right!" The boy with blue hair cried as he held up one of the boys by the collar of his uniform.

"C-calm down, Michel-san!" One of the two free boys stuttered as he attempted to calm the blue haired one, apparently Michel Eikichi.

"Y-yeah, if we wait a little longer, I'm sure Tatsuya will show!" The other free boy said when he seemed to realize he said something he shouldn't. "Er…oh crud…!"

Eikichi dropped the boy he was holding and glared at the three boys.

"Hey…what's this about Tatsuya? What are you three scheming?" He demanded.

"Huh…so that's what this is about?" Lisa asked as she and Tatsuya approached finally, having assessed the situation more than enough.

"Tatsuya!?" Eikichi cried as his eyes landed on him.

"Yeah." Tatsuya nodded, though he felt a bit stiff. He was always uncomfortable with the popularity he had at Sevens. The fact that he was just as well-known even at Cuss High didn't make him feel any better. "I'm guessing you'r-"

"Michel Eikichi, I take it?" Lisa cut in, her eyes narrow.

"Yeah yeah yeah! Do I got you, babe?" Eikichi asked, his voice smooth as he stuck a pose. "Allow me to introduce myself as the genius artist Michel, spreading love to ladies around the world! Hooooooooo!"

"What…are you smoking?" Lisa deadpanned.

Tatsuya was grateful for how good he was at masking his emotions, considering he had to stifle a laugh at that. Especially when Eikichi's previously smoothly smiling face transformed with his anger.

"What was that, you little-!?" He cried.

"Um…please forgive us! We used Kozy-san to lure out Tatsuya-san!" One of the boys apologized, bowing his head to Eikichi.

"You know how you were pumped to start a band, Michel-san? We were looking for members. You were the only one, so…" Another boy explained, bowing his head as well.

"We thought Tatsuya-san would be a good fit. And he's reliable, so we thought you'd be happy to have him aboard…" The last added, bowing his head like his friends.

"Y-you guys…you knew what would happen if you violated Bro Code and you still…" Eikichi trailed off, sounding honestly touched.

"Yes, sir! 'Cowardice is unbefitting of a real man!' We'll take whatever punishment you have in store!" The three boys chorused.

Tatsuya stifled a chuckle. It seemed like the four of them were really close and they hadn't mistreated Kozy at all, if the fact that she was happily eating was any indication.

"Um…so that stuff about telling me the mystery of the emblem curse…was that all a lie? If so, then I'm going to go." Kozy said as she stood up and brushed off her skirt before she walked over to stand beside Lisa.

"We should go too, Tatsuya. This is so stupid I might cry." Lisa sighed as she shook her head.

"Hold it, Tatsuya!" Eikichi cut in before Tatsuya could even open his mouth. "I hate to stoop this low…but for the sake of my bros, I can't let you go that easily. For my honor as the Death Boss, I'm dragging you into my band!"

Tatsuya honestly did not know what to say in response to that. He had a guitar back home, sure, but he wasn't sure if he could work up the nerve to actually join a band.

Lisa, however, saved him from answering yet again.

"'Death Boss'!? More like Undie Boss!" She scoffed. Eikichi tensed as she continued. "I heard the rumors! You became Boss by pantsing people, didn't you?"

Lisa giggled and Tatsuya swore he heard the moment Eikichi snapped.

"U-uh-oh…Michel-san!" One of the boys cried as the three attempted to hold Eikichi back.

"Undie…" Eikichi whispered.

Suddenly, the same feeling from the bike rake washed over Tatsuya again and he stiffened as the pain returned.

"What is this!?" He asked aloud.

"Wh-what's happening…!?" Lisa cried, appearing to be in a similar situation.

Eikichi suddenly threw off his friends holding him back and blue light surrounded him.

"Don't! Call! Me! Undie! My name is Eikichi Mishina! EIKICHI! MISHINAAAAAAA!" He shouted. He then bent forward and flexed his arms down and cried at the top of his lungs, "Come, Deathbringer!"

Suddenly, a figure _morphed_ out of Eikichi's body in the exact same pose and floated behind him. Then it spoke in a voice heavily similar to Eikichi's own.

_"I am Rhadamanthus…the judge of the netherworld. I shall sever your foes' sins with my blade of judgement!"_

Water suddenly fell over Lisa's head, soaking her and forcing her to her knees with the strength of it.

"Aaaaaaaaaagh…!" Lisa screamed just as the same blue light surrounded her and, as if on instinct, she raised her left arm up so it was diagonal to her side, her hand up towards the sky. In the same way as with Eikichi, a figure morphed out of her body in the same pose and floated behind her. "Haime…seriously!?"

The figure then spoke in a voice heavily similar to Lisa's own.

_"I am Eros…my golden arrow's kindle love's flames…I shall be your strength, my other self…"_

_T_ he figure faded from sight and Lisa slumped on the ground, unconscious.

"H-h-how can you use it too!?" Eikichi cried, eyes wide in shock.

Suddenly, a voice rang in Tatsuya's mind, the same voice from earlier, only now it was exceptionally clear.

_"Fear not…take my hand…"_

On instinct, Tatsuya raised his left arm to the side so it was parallel to the ground.

"Come!" Tatsuya cried. He could feel a figure morphing out of him and, as it began to float above him, he fell to his knees, already feeling the exertion taking a toll on him.

The figure spoke then, its voice heavily similar to Tatsuya's own.

_"I am thou…thou art I…from the sea of thy soul I cometh…the bearer of the inferno that burns away impurity, Vulcanus!"_

The figure, Vulcanus, raised its arm and fire suddenly struck Eikichi, causing him to crumble to the ground. As soon as Vulcanus vanished, Tatsuya followed the two to unconsciousness.

He didn't, however, actually fall unconscious. Or at least, it didn't feel like that. Instead, Tatsuya felt like he was flying as images flashed through his mind.

Images of a group of children, a shrine and a girl…

The next thing Tatsuya knew, he was standing in what appeared to be a gazebo like structure alongside an awake Lisa and Eikichi. In the center of the gazebo, a gold butterfly flew in a column of gold light that seemed to originate from the green tile with a butterfly symbol on it.

In a flash of light, however, the butterfly was replaced by a man with brown hair in a ponytail wearing a black turtleneck, black pants, black shoes and a white mask that covered three fourths of the man's face with a 3D orange butterfly over his left eye.

"Welcome to the gulf between consciousness and unconsciousness…my name is Philemon. Have you forgotten?" The man, Philemon, greeted them.

"Phile…mon…?" Lisa repeated, as if testing the syllables or making sure she said it correctly.

"Is this…about what just happened…?" Tatsuya hesitantly asked.

"The power you hold is called Persona." Philemon nodded in confirmation. "It is the power to summon the selves within you, the gods and demons you harbor. The self suffused with divine love…the self capable of demonic cruelty…people live by wearing different masks. Your current self is only one of these innumerable masks. Your Persona is also among your countless selves."

"That's…me…?" Eikichi asked. "What are you…?"

"From here on, you will face a fearsome entity which threatens your existence." Philemon continued. "From time out of mind, beyond oblivion…the land of Sumaru is now a netherworld where rumors are reality. The battle is begun…"

Shocked at the words, Tatsuya looked first at Lisa and then at Eikichi, seeing the same confusion reflected in their eyes.

"I summoned you here to tell you this. Now go, and with your Personas break the chains of karma laid against you…" Philemon said.

With that, everything faded to darkness.

* * *

When Tatsuya came to, he barely let out a groan before he heard Eikichi speak.

"That…wasn't a dream, was it?" The blue haired boss hesitantly asked as he stood up.

"I knew it…! I saw it too. It called those things Personas…?" Lisa said as she stood, looking from Eikichi to Tatsuya for confirmation.

"Yeah…he said his name was…Philemon…?" Tatsuya nodded as he pushed himself to his feet, his hands in his pockets and his thumb rubbing against his lighter.

"Even the part about rumors coming true, and the stuff about the future…? That's too much for it to be a coincidence." Eikichi said, his eyes widening as they all confirmed that they had the exact same dream.

Tatsuya imagined they looked quite strange to Kozy and Eikichi's friends, but that wasn't important right now. Figuring out what the hell just happened was.

"But how can we believe it…?" Tatsuya hesitantly voiced. His voice, in contrast, was steady, just another part of what everyone expected of him.

"Hey, I know…you wanna try the Joker Game?" Lisa suggested, bowing her head as she did so. She looked so sad…

"The thing where you call your own cell and it shows up? Why would I want to try that?" Eikichi asked, confused.

"To test if that was just a dream or something more. If the rumor really comes true, then it was all real…" Lisa explained.

"I'll pass. There's no way all that could be possible." Eikichi shook his head.

"That's why I'll prove it. Hey…are you scared or something…?" Lisa questioned.

"If you say so…it does feel like we should be doing something after a dream like that. Let's see if this is for real." Eikichi agreed.

"You in, Tatsuya?" Lisa asked. There were tears in her eyes. Tatsuya had no idea why and yet, at the same time, his heart seemed to reflect the exact pain Lisa felt.

"Yeah. Let's test this." Tatsuya nodded.

* * *

In a few minutes, they were ready to begin.

"Why are we the ones who have to do this…?" One of Eikichi's friends, Ken Tatsuya believed, sighed.

Without another word, Eikichi's three friends and Lisa began raising their arms up and down and spoke in unison.

"Well then, here goes…Joker, Joker, please come here." Lisa chanted.

The four then turned around and walked away from each other so they formed a square before they each took out their phones and called themselves.

"No way…" Lisa whispered, drawing Tatsuya's attention.

Without even thinking about it, Tatsuya shared a look with Eikichi. The same worry and fear that Tatsuya felt was reflected in his eyes.

"It just…" Eikichi's friends said at the same time.

"Um…hello…?" Lisa said.

Suddenly, a black sphere formed in the center of the square and Tatsuya's eyes widened as a figure appeared, along with several phantom like copies.

The boy wore all white with black accents, the most prominent of them being a black rose symbol, while on his face he wore a mask that showed a white face with a widely grinning mouth, one bright blue eyes and a black headdress with yellow accents and purple roses.

"Behind you…" The boy said.

As Eikichi's friends and Lisa turned around, Tatsuya felt his heart clench violently in pain. The boy's voice was young, probably close to Tatsuya's own age, and it was heavily distorted, why Tatsuya had no idea. Despite all that…the voice was familiar. So familiar that Tatsuya's heart began to ache with an almost unbearable pain. Yet, he had no way to explain it.

"I am Joker…the final trump card drawn by those anguished over their dreams…" The boy, Joker, proclaimed. "Tell me your ideal…"

Eikichi's friends backed up in fear and rubbed their eyes in disbelief. Lisa, however, fell to her knees and one look at Eikichi told Tatsuya that the boss was in a similar state to him and Lisa.

A strong familiarity and yet an unbearable pain they could not explain…

"No! You have to hurry and tell it your ideals! The rumor says that those who don't get turned into shadowmen!" Kozy cried, snapping Tatsuya out of his thoughts.

"Your trump cards have been spoiled…" Joker said. "The bet on the table was your inner, dreaming heart…" Joker held a silver, crystal skull in his hand and his copies held it out towards Eikichi's friends. "In accordance with the ritual, I will now claim the pot."

Suddenly, blue light shot out from each of Eikichi's friends and towards the skull, which absorbed the light even as Eikichi's friends screamed.

When it was done, the three boys looked darker than they had previously been, as if a shadow was covering them.

Joker's copies faded away and he turned to the remaining four.

"K-Ken! Shogo! Takeshi!" Eikichi cried before he turned to Joker. "You bastard…what did you do!?

"Ideals only cause pain to the powerless. I have freed them from that anguish…better not to yearn for impossible dreams." Joker answered. "They are lifeless shells of dreams. They can be seen, but are not. They will be forgotten and become true shadows. But enough chitchat. I have other business with you…"

Suddenly, the blue light that most likely told of a Persona user surrounded Joker as Tatsuya fell to his knees, Lisa tensed until she looked frozen and Eikichi trembled as if he was standing outside in the middle of winter.

"I can't move…! Is it the fear…!?" Lisa gasped.

Tatsuya couldn't speak, his eyes never leaving that masked face.

"It's been ages, Tatsuya Suou…I've been waiting…for the moment you would all summon me!" Joker said. "As a parting gift, I'll show you something interesting…not Personas, but true demons!"

Suddenly, a bird like creature was flying on Joker's right and another on his left.

"Wh-what are those things…!?" Lisa gasped.

At the same moment, the demons swooped down, trying to attack the three high schoolers. Quickly, Tatsuya, Lisa and Eikichi ducked, avoiding the long, deadly looking claws.

Somehow, in the midst of it, Tatsuya found the strength to stand. Something told him he couldn't give up, not yet.

_Someone still needs you…_

"I'm not giving up yet!" Tatsuya grunted as he raised his left arm once again, calling on Vulcanus with ease. Right away, the Persona casted a fire spell, Agi Tatsuya's mind helpfully supplied, and one of the bird demons vanished in a single blaze of fire.

"Fanna…! There's no way I'm letting those things kill me!" Lisa grunted as she raised her left arm diagonally once again, Eros appearing at once. The Persona aimed the bow it held at the remaining demon and when it let its arrow fly straight and true, a giant rock surrounded the demon, turning it to stone.

"You guys! Work with me here! If we all attack together, we just might pull this off!" Eikichi cried.

Nodding in agreement, Tatsuya and Lisa pushed themselves to their feet and the three called upon their Personas in unison.

The combined force of their spells caused a torrent of water, larger than the one Rhadamanthus had casted earlier, to fall onto Joker. Despite the water, however, he was entire unfazed.

"A Fusion Spell…a laudable idea, but it's much too weak. You'll never best me with such paltry offense." Joker stated as he summoned his own Persona by lifting his right arm forward so it was parallel to the ground. A white and black Persona morphed out of him and floated above him, looking like a mismatched patchwork rather than a Persona, like the others'.

Something about the sight of that Persona…put Tatsuya on edge.

"Eikichi Mishina…Lisa Silverman…and you, Tatsuya Suou, the Thief…it's time you died! You cannot escape the wheel of fortune!" Joker proclaimed.

Suddenly, a fierce wind blew, practically knocking the three high schoolers off their feet. Tatsuya was just regaining his bearings when a hand wrapped around his throat and lifted him off the ground. In the very corner of his eye, he could see Joker was standing on Eikichi's back with one foot while his hand held Tatsuya aloft.

"Those eyes…you've haven't changed. What kind of dreams did you build on the corpses of other people's ideals?" Joker demanded.

"What…are you…talking…about? How…do you…know…me…?" Tatsuya managed to gasp out. Though his face was carefully blank, inside he was shaking in confusion and his heart continued to ache.

"The poker face doesn't fool me. I know. You wanted to go to college…isn't that so?" Joker said.

Tatsuya's eyes widened. Nobody but Ms. Saeko should've known that. Not even his family knew that!

"Hahaha! Aaaaaaahahahaha! I'll never let your dreams come true!" Joker swore. "You should know by now…why I came to you all today!"

"What…?" Tatsuya gasped. It was getting harder and harder to breath with that hand clamped around his neck.

"What the hell are you talking about…?" Eikichi asked from his spot under Joker's foot.

"Wh-what? What did we ever do to you?" Lisa questioned, her face lost as she pushed herself up as much as she could.

Suddenly, Joker threw Tatsuya to the ground and stepped off Eikichi. Tatsuya grasped his throat, gasping for air, never appreciating it more than he did now.

His heart ached as his eyes returned to Joker's figure.

"No…do you not remember!?" Joker cried. He backed away from them, shaking his head frantically. "Impossible! This can't be…how could this happen!?" Joker suddenly fell to his knees, clutching his head as if he were suffering from mental torture. The position made Tatsuya's heart ache, even if he couldn't understand why, considering this was the same boy who almost killed him. "What meaning is there in killing you if you do not remember!?"

Slowly, carefully, Tatsuya, Lisa and Eikichi pushed themselves to their feet and shifted so they were standing in front of Kozy as Joker stood and faced them, any sign of his previous torture gone.

"You escaped your fate this time…but you will get not rest. My demons will be your assassins." Joker stated. "Let this iris be my testament…now go, and remember the sins you have committed! Then will I claim my revenge!"

With that said, Joker threw the yellow iris to the ground and vanished just as he came, in a black sphere. As if in a trance, Tatsuya picked up the iris and stared at it.

_"Revenge…"_ A voice in Tatsuya's mind supplied.

Without thinking, Tatsuya carefully slipped the flower into his pocket. His eyes then turned to Eikichi, who had moved to stand in front of one of his shadowed friends.

"I'm sorry, Ken…if I hadn't made you play the game…" Eikichi apologized, his voice full of pain and sorrow and blame for himself. Out of respect for him, Tatsuya turned away.

"Um…who is Eikichi-ku-I mean, Boss-san talking to?" Kozy asked. Lisa turned to Kozy in surprise before she sadly hung her head.

"They've really been forgotten…" She whispered.

Tatsuya reached into his pocket and clutched his lighter tightly before he began to head to the exit. What happened to those three was partly his fault too and it seemed that whatever was going on, Joker had the answers. So, Tatsuya resolved to find him, even if he was going alone.

"Hold on a sec, Tatsuya…you're going after that guy, right?" Eikichi asked, his voice soft and pained, yet it stopped Tatsuya instantly. "You should stay out of this. I'll deal with him."

Instead of answering, Tatsuya turned back and met Eikichi's eyes head on as the boss approached. Lisa was right on their tail and cut in before either could speak.

"Whoa there, both of you! You're up against a real monster here! If we don't stick together, you'll die!" Lisa argued. "Plus, we don't know where to start looking. Let's get someone else to do something about him-like the police!"

Tatsuya thought of his father, of Katsuya, and found himself frowning. They wouldn't believe him about something ordinary, why would they ever believe him about something extraordinary like this?

"Who'd believe us!? We gotta arm up and kill that guy, or we're all screwed." Eikichi argued.

Tatsuya remained silent, flicking his lighter open and closed pensively. Something about Eikichi's words bothered him…maybe it was the prospect of killing an actual human being? Tatsuya wasn't sure.

"If that's the case, maybe I can help…I'll go see what I can find out about Joker." Kozy offered as she approached the group. "While I do that, you should prepare to defend yourselves…"

The three high school Persona users shared a look before nodding in agreement. They were in this together now, for better or worse.

"That reminds me…rumor has it that the ramen shop in Kameya Alley sells weapons…" Kozy added thoughtfully. "Something about the owner being a former spy…with everything that's going on, why not start there?"

"If rumors are coming true, it's worth a shot…having just our Personas makes me nervous, so to the ramen shop it is!" Lisa stated.

"She's got a point…we don't stand a chance against him yet." Eikichi sighed in agreement, running a hand through his hair as he turned to Tatsuya. "We've both been called out on a grudge we know nothing about. Let's call a truce until that guy's out of the picture."

"Yeah…okay." Tatsuya nodded, feeling awkward and out of place, considering he didn't even consider Eikichi a rival. Or anyone really.

With that said, Eikichi began to make his way out of the prison, his emotions carefully hidden away (which impressed Tatsuya a bit considering he seemed like the type to wear his heart on his sleeve), and Lisa began to follow him out, her silence reflecting the solemn air that hovered over the prison.

"Suou-sempai…" Kozy called, attracting Tatsuya's attention before he could follow the other two. "Umm…about my real name…could you keep it a secret from Boss-san? Please…"

"Sure, but why?" Tatsuya questioned, not understanding the reason.

"Just…please…" Kozy repeated, hanging her head, as if to hide.

"Yeah, okay." Tatsuya nodded, feeling out of place without a proper answer. He quietly cleared his throat. "Thanks again for agreeing to help. Let us know what you find…okay?" He probably sounded so stupid.

"Of course. Thank you too." Kozy smiled the slightest bit, as if she didn't consider Tatsuya stupid and awkward.

Tatsuya smiled the slightest bit before he followed the other two as Eikichi began to lead them towards this ramen shop.

This was definitely going to be an interesting story to tell one day.


	2. Rumors Become Reality

Eikichi, being more familiar with the Hirasaka Ward than Tatsuya or Lisa, led the way to the ramen shop, Shiraishi Ramen. Once they entered, a male customer loudly burped, drawing their attention as he loudly spoke right after.

"Blauch…o-okay, I ate the strawberry tanmen…n-now, let's get down to business…"

The man was pretty eye catching, wearing a bright yellow tie with a white lab coat and bearing a striking resemblance to the Satomi Tadashi sisters. Tatsuya had never met him before, but he seemed to give off an incompetent, goofy aura.

"I was a spy, but that was so long ago…I just run this ramen shop now. Why would I be selling weapons?" The shop owner, Ma'am Eikichi had called her, questioned with a shake of her head.

"Ah-ah-ah…" The man clicked his tongue. "I heard from the Chief and Tamaki that the 'secret dish' is the password to getting an under-the-table deal. I must've just ordered the wrong thing…I heard it was something disgusting. What about the sweet red bean gyoza?"

Next to Tatsuya, Eikichi sighed.

"That lady's always teasing her customers out of boredom…I've known her since I was a kid, so I'm pretty familiar with this place. And I know there's no way you can buy weapons here." He explained.

"Even if rumors are coming true?" Tatsuya questioned.

"That was just one rumor, with the result showing that Joker guy bears some kind of grudge against us." Eikichi shook his head.

"Well then, we'll see about that." Lisa huffed before she marched over to the man, smiling kindly at him. "Excuse me! Could I ask who you are? I don't think I've seen you around here before."

"Heh…I'm Tadashi, I'm a detective whose beat is the darkness of the city. Come to the Kuzunoha Detective Agency for your investigative needs." The man, Tadashi, smiled. "Here, take one of our flyers. Our offices are in Kameya Alley."

Lisa took the flyer, said a quiet thanks and dragged Tatsuya off to the side to whisper in his ear.

"Did you hear what he said before, Tatsuya? About a 'secret dish'? That must be the password you need to buy weapons. Let's go ask the Chief what it is!" Lisa grinned at him as she held up the flyer.

"I'm telling you, it's not true!" Eikichi protested, even as he followed Lisa, who was once again dragging Tatsuya along, only releasing him so he could once again grab his bike and push it alongside them as they walked.

"We won't know until we ask the Chief and Tamaki-san." Tatsuya shrugged.

Eikichi simply sighed in frustration, but offered no further protests.

* * *

However, with Lisa leading them, it seemed like they easily got lost…before Tatsuya knew it, they were walking into Gatten Sushi, a sushi restaurant, and Eikichi was running in front of them, waving his arms wildly as he got in their way.

"Whoaaaaaaa! Hey! Hey! Stop in the name of love! We don't need to be here! Right? Right!? We were heading to that detective agency, weren't we?!" He frantically rambled.

"What's got you so worked up, Undie Boss?" Lisa questioned, her sarcasm palpable.

"N-nothing, just-" Eikichi stuttered.

"Is that you, Eikichi!? Then hurry up and help with the restaurant!" A scratchy voice called from the kitchen before the chef came out to talk to the three teenagers. As soon as he saw Eikichi, however, he paused. "…what the HELL!? I-i-is this a joke!? What the hell are you wearing, boy!?" As the chef yelled, he backed a trembling and pale-even-under-his-makeup Eikichi back into the wall.

"Y-yes, sir!? D-Daddy-o…I-I mean, Dad…Hear me out! Th-there's a good explanation for this!" Eikichi stuttered, waving his hands in front of him furiously as he faced his father. "I was practicing for a costume party! R-right, Tatsuya!? It's for the school festival! It's not like I always dress like this!"

Eikichi turned pleading eyes towards Tatsuya as his father turned to the brunette boy as well. Tatsuya simply turned around and began to flick his lighter open and closed. He was _not_ getting in the middle of this. Lisa didn't seem like she was willing to help either, stifling laughs into her palm.

"Costume practice!? I hope you know what's coming to you if I catch you lying to me!" Eikichi's dad threatened, turning back to his son. "We already decided you're gonna be taking over this restaurant someday! If I find out that's your everyday outfit, there'll be hell to pay!"

"Ha! Hahaha…! C-come on, Dad…d-don't be ridiculous!" Eikichi stuttered, his voice scared more than anything else. "Let's GO, Tatsuya-kun! We gotta get the hell outta…I mean, get back to practice!" As he spoke, Eikichi grasped Tatsuya's shoulder and began to push him out of the restaurant, Lisa following shortly behind them.

"What was that about?" Tatsuya hesitantly asked, though his voice gave no indication to this hesitation.

"M-my pops is the only man I have trouble dealing with…ever since I was a kid, when he yells at me in that scratchy voice, I freeze up." Eikichi admitted, his head hanging in shame and embarrassment.

"Why?" Tatsuya questioned, curious. He knew most kids feared their dads growing up, but…Eikichi's fear seemed excessive.

"Why? Cause when you add up his karate, judo and capoeira skills, my pops is 18th rank! If I disobey him, he'll murder me!" Eikichi exclaimed, the fear real in his voice.

"Haime!? Seriously!? The Undie Boss lives in fear of his dad!?" Lisa cried in shock before she began to laugh so hard, tears formed in her eyes and she bent over, clutching her stomach. "Snrk…ahahahahahahahaha! You Yisi! That's hilarious! Costume practice? You always dress like that!"

"My _dad_ doesn't need to know that!" Eikichi hissed at her, ripping the flyer for the detective agency from her hands. "Come on, if we keep following you, we'll get lost again."

"Hey!" Lisa cried in protest, leading to the two fighting over who got to lead the way.

When it started to go on for ten minutes, Tatsuya sighed, kicked his bike's kick stand down and stood in between the two.

"Since we're in Hirasaka, Eikichi should show us the way. If we go back to Rengedai, then we can lead the way. Okay?" He compromised. Eikichi and Lisa glared at each other around him before they both huffed and turned away.

"Fine." They pouted in perfect unison. Tatsuya silently nodded and returned to his bike before nodding to Eikichi to lead the way.

For a short while, it seemed he somehow managed to maintain peace.

* * *

They found the Kuzunoha Detective Agency without too much trouble after that, thankfully enough.

"Welcome, meow <3 Welcome, meow <3 Welcome, meow <3" The lucky cat statue trilled as they walked inside.

"Th-that thing scared me…what the hell is this?" Eikichi gasped as he stared at the statue.

"A lucky cat statue. My brother's job has a dog version." Tatsuya answered.

"Seriously!?" Eikichi cried, turning to Tatsuya with wide eyes. Tatsuya simply shrugged when footsteps approached the group of three.

"Welcome! My name is Tamaki, I'm a part-timer here at the agency. Is there something we can help you with?" A brown haired young woman greeted them with a bright smile. Unlike the man from the ramen shop, the woman gave off a professional, trustworthy aura. If Tatsuya hadn't known the two were connected in some way, he would never have thought so.

"Oh, no, we just had a question…can we see the chief detective?" Lisa requested as she approached the woman, Tamaki.

"Of course, just one moment." Tamaki smiled before she led them into a sitting area, where an older man stood behind a desk, looking outside.

Shortly thereafter, they had explained why they had come and who had led them there. Then they got their answers.

Needless to say, they…were surprised.

"Aiyah! Then the rumors about the secret dish and the weapons dealing…" Lisa stood up from the couch in her honest surprise. "you guys spread those just to tease Tadashi!?"

"We didn't spread them exactly…we just told him and Tadashi ran his big mouth." Tamaki clarified. Honestly, since she had mentioned in their explanation that she was dating Tadashi, Tatsuya had no idea why the two were even together. But he didn't judge.

"I knew it was something like that…" Eikichi shook his head with a sigh. "Anyway, it's not like rumors can magically come true. Like Joker, he must have always existed."

"But that doesn't explain that…magic he used." Tatsuya muttered under his breath, his brow furrowed in confusion. How did this all even work?

"Can you give us any more details? We're investigating Joker too." Tamaki's voice dragged him out of his thoughts. Eikichi and Lisa both looked at him.

"Well…" Tatsuya cleared his throat. "what happened was that Lisa and three others called their own numbers and Joker appeared, along with three…copies of him, I guess. When the other three didn't make a wish, Joker used a skull to take away their…dreaming hearts, he said, and they became shadowmen. We aren't sure how it works, but it came true, just as the rumor said."

"I see…the unusual incidents lately would make more sense if rumors were indeed becoming reality…" Chief Todoroki hummed thoughtfully. "Well? Do you want us to spread the rumor about what the secret dish is?"

"Yeah! If rumors are coming true, we can spread rumors that work in our favor!" Lisa grinned in realization.

"I'll do this one for free, but I'll need you to file an official request." Chief Todoroki explained as Tamaki went to get the necessary paperwork.

"Right." Tatsuya nodded as the brunette woman reappeared and passed the paperwork to Tatsuya. He supposed, as the oldest, he should be the one to fill it out.

As he began to write however, that thought brought him pause. He knew he was older than Lisa, she was a second year after all, but how had he known without asking that Eikichi was younger than him? Glancing at the blue haired boy through his lashes, Tatsuya's eyes landed on the collar of his uniform, where he could spot a silver Roman numeral two. That…must be why, he must've spotted Eikichi's pin and forgot about it. Yeah…

Pushing the thought aside, Tatsuya quickly filled out the rest of the paperwork before passing it back to the chief.

"Excellent." Chief Todoroki nodded. "Now, go see for yourself. If the rumor's come true, ordering banana char siu ramen should get you weapons."

"Thanks, Chief! Let's go!" Lisa grinned before she rushed out of the detective agency, the two boys hot on her heels.

"Wait! Who's gonna order that, anyway?" Eikichi called after her.

* * *

They decided along the way by playing rock-paper-scissors. Eikichi was not pleased by the result.

"Alright, order up. You lost the game." Lisa reminded him as they stood before Ma'am once again.

"Why me?" Eikichi sighed in a long suffering way before he spoke up. "One order of banana char siu ramen, Ma'am!"

"…!" Ma'am gasped as she looked at the blue haired boy in surprise before she nodded. "I knew this day would come, Eikichi…these weapons are on the house as a farewell gift. Hmm…let's see…Eikichi, you get a standard case. Mr. Cool here gets a Misericode…and I'll throw in some leather gloves for the girl." As Ma'am spoke, she passed a guitar case (which apparently had a machine gun inside) to Eikichi, a katana to Tatsuya and a pair of gloves to Lisa. "But rules are rules. You have to eat what you ordered, or I'll pretend this never happened."

Honestly, Tatsuya felt slightly sorry for Eikichi, considering how disgusting banana char siu ramen was, but at the moment he was more concerned about how he was gonna hide a katana when he went home. For now, he slipped it between his back and uniform jacket. It would be uncomfortable, especially considering how hot July and August could be, but it would do.

Several minutes later, Eikichi collapsed on the counter.

"There! I choked it down! Take that! Bluuuuuuuuuuurrghhhhh…" He loudly burped as he panted for breath.

"Good job…" Ma'am smiled slightly before she turned away, as if nothing had ever happened.

Just then, the door opened and Kozy rushed in.

"Big news, everyone! I talked to someone who witnessed Principal Hanya with a mysterious masked figure!" She grinned as she reported her findings.

"Haime!? Really? I wonder if that's Joker…" Lisa mused. "Let's go back to Sevens, Tatsuya! Hanya might know something about Joker!"

"I think it's better if we did that tomorrow, Lisa. It's getting late and school's out." Tatsuya reminded her.

"Oh, right…" Lisa trailed off, almost awkwardly before she found her footing once more. "First thing tomorrow then! Class can wait, we gotta question Hanya right away tomorrow!"

"I'll keep researching the relationship between Joker and rumors." Kozy offered.

"Well, have fun. Make sure to let the great Michel know what you find." Eikichi smiled as he combed his fingers through his hair.

"Ngh hoh yi! You're coming too!" Lisa blocked his path, glaring at him. "Besides, you've probably skipped school before, so it won't be any different if you do it tomorrow too!"

"Well…" Eikichi trailed off.

"It's to find Joker and help your friends." Tatsuya reminded him quietly.

"Ohhh…alright." Eikichi sighed, giving in.

"Great! See you both tomorrow." Lisa grinned before she turned to Kozy. "C'mon, Kozy, let's get out of here."

Without another word, the two girls left. Tatsuya and Eikichi left the shop not far behind them and their goodbye was…awkward, to say the least. Tatsuya climbed on his bike, put his helmet on and kinda…waved bye at Eikichi, which the blue haired boy nodded back at before he turned back towards where Gatten Sushi was.

* * *

Tatsuya came home to an empty house, which he easily figured out from the lack of cars in the driveway and the lack of response to his call of 'I'm home' when he entered. That meant his dad and brother were still working while his mom was most likely out shopping.

Just as well, he didn't like being around his family too much anyway. Instead, Tatsuya silently made his way to his room, threw his bag aside, removed the katana so he could _properly_ hide it and laid down on his bed.

Dinner, as always, was an awkward affair of his mother and brother attempting to make conversation while Tatsuya stared firmly down at his plate and his father simply sat in silence. It was just as well, his father had learned long ago that Tatsuya didn't want to talk to them. His mother and brother were stubborn though and tried to hold the family together. But Tatsuya just didn't care, too angry at all of them to care anymore. He still had a scar on his back from the incident that had eventually torn his family, his life really, asunder and yet it felt as if none of them cared about what happened anymore.

None of them cared that his father had been falsely accused of arson, even when there was proof he wasn't on the back of his very own son. And that lack of care had brought all of them Tatsuya's anger and it wouldn't change any time soon.

* * *

The next morning, Tatsuya opted to walk to school rather than ride his bike, considering how much of a pain it was to push it around yesterday, and met up with Eikichi and Lisa just outside Sevens.

They didn't say much as they approached, but that was mostly because there was a lot of chaos going on in the courtyard.

"Aiyah? I wonder what's up. Did something happen?" Lisa questioned.

"Might as well ask." Tatsuya shrugged, making his way towards the closest student. "Hey. Did something happen?"

"You could say that! The big clock in the tower suddenly started moving!" The student exclaimed.

"What!?" Tatsuya and Lisa cried in unison, both shocked over the news. Then they heard a groaning from the tower and, when they looked up, sure enough it was moving.

As soon as it did, the chaos and confusion started again.

"What's the matter? Why all this fuss over a clock starting?" Eikichi questioned, as if the situation wasn't that dire. From an outsider's perspective, Tatsuya did suppose it looked like no big deal. But this _was_.

"There's tons of scary rumors about this tower! Like, ghosts appearing and other bad stuff when the clock starts again." Lisa explained.

"And with rumors coming true…" Tatsuya whispered, his words causing Eikichi's eyes to widen in realization at the seriousness of the situation.

"Oh no…what a terrible omen…Namu Amida Butsu, Namu Amida Butsu…" The janitor recited.

"Take it easy, gramps! There's no need to be scared. Long as I'm around, you've got nothing to worry about!" Eikichi praised himself as he approached the janitor. Or maybe he didn't quite get the seriousness yet…

"No! Something awful will happen!" The janitor protested as he turned to Eikichi. "Before he died, that teacher said, 'the world will end if time is not stopped'."

"Are you talking about…that teacher that died in the clock tower?" Lisa questioned.

"Yes, that's right…that teacher nobly sacrificed his life to save the children and ensure world peace!" The janitor insisted.

Suddenly, Ms. Ideal ran into the courtyard, her eyes locked on the tower.

"No…this can't be! 'The seven Pleiades set the frozen time free'…has it begun!?" She cried, sounding panicked before she gasped. "The Narurato Stone! What about the Narurato Stone!?" Without another word, she charged into the school like a madwoman on a mission.

"What's gotten into Ms. Ideal? Can this day get any crazier!?"

"The big clock's started again, so…I'd say yes!"

"Can we really prevent the curse by taking our emblems off our uniforms!?"

"Eeeek!" A girl suddenly screamed. She fell to her knees, covering her face. Quickly, a friend helped her stand up and she lowered her hands, only…

"Oh god! Y-your face…!"

"The curse! It's the emblem curse!"

Instantly, the courtyard was cleared as people screamed like the devil itself was licking at their heels.

"Dude, what!? Did that girl's face just…?" Eikichi asked, his eyes wide in fear and panic.

"That's the emblem curse. Rumor has it taking our emblems off might prevent it." Tatsuya explained.

"Kehhei!? What's going on!? Does this mean it isn't enough to take the emblems off our uniforms!?" Lisa cried in anger, her fists clenched. "Let's hurry and find Principal Hanya! We need to lift the curse before my face and Tatsuya's gets all messed up!"

The two boys nodded in agreement and began to make their way through the school. Along the way, they ran into a bunch of students panicking, the walking statue of the principal (thanks to a bet Eikichi made with Lisa, he ended up owing her 3,000 yen despite the fact that the situation was, in his own words, ridiculous, but hey at least the statue convinced him that _yes_ , rumors are coming true) and a surprisingly nice slime who taught them how to negotiate with demons (strange, really strange, but it could come in handy he supposed).

When they reached room 2-C, however, they heard an interesting conversation.

"Our editor, who went to go investigate the links between the emblem curse and Cuss High, didn't come back yesterday and hasn't come in today…" A student who wrote for the paper said.

"Miyabi Hanakouji was the school paper's editor, now that I think of it." A female student noted. "Don't worry. I'm sure she's somewhere dozing off again."

Suddenly, Eikichi inserted himself in between the two and grabbed the boy writer by his collar.

"H-hey…! Did you just say 'Miyabi Hanakouji'? You know Hanakouji-san!?" He cried.

"M-Miyabi Hanakouji is a student here…she said she was heading to Cuss High yesterday. Did you see her there?" The writer asked.

"No…just some fatty called Kozy…" Eikichi shook his head as he released the boy. "Wow…so Hanakouji-san goes to Sevens…haha…wow…"

"What? You saw Kozy…? Don't you know? Kozy is-" The girl started to say.

"Aiyah! Stoooooop!" Lisa cried, rushing up to the small group before Kozy's secret could be revealed. "H-hey, Undie Boss! I know Miyabi really well…what was your relationship with her?" As the blonde asked the question, Tatsuya moved closer, just in case he needed to help.

"What!? Ohhhh…so you know her too!" Eikichi grinned. "Hanakouji-san isn't a raging bull like you. She's a slim, beautiful, classy lady!" Turning to the other students, Eikichi pointed at them. "Isn't she?!"

"S-slim? Beautiful!?" The two cried, confused.

"Gah! Hold it in…keep it together…" Lisa muttered to herself, turning away from Eikichi. Taking that as his cue, Tatsuya stepped forward.

"Eikichi, how do you know her?" He asked.

"O-our relationship? Well…she's my ex-girlfriend! We were dating in grade school!" Eikichi answered. "We broke up eventually, but I still can't forget her face when she cried and said, 'Eikichi-kun, I can't bear to be apart!'."

"Huh…" Tatsuya trailed off as Lisa awkwardly laughed. They…left it at that and continued on their way from there.

* * *

Tatsuya, Lisa and Eikichi finally made their way into the principal's office and looked around.

"Huh? Looks like the principal's not here." Lisa commented.

Tatsuya's brows furrowed. Considering the crisis Sevens was currently going through due to the curse made real thanks to a damn rumor, you'd expect the principal to be doing something about it. But Hanya was nowhere to be seen.

There were, however, three students in the office, a first year boy, a third year girl and a second year boy.

"Wai! Hey, you! Have you seen the principal?" Lisa asked as she approached the three.

"Uh, no, we've searched everywhere and he's nowhere to be found. Where'd he go with the school in such chaos…?" The first year boy questioned.

"I was so sure Principal Hanya would be able to handle this curse stuff too!" The third year girl added.

_He's a principal, not a miracle worker._ Tatsuya thought to himself. Honestly, he had no idea why everyone loved Hanya. In fact, it was creepy.

"The great Michel comes all the way to Sevens and its own principal isn't here!?" Eikichi sighed over dramatically. "The great rock n' roll swindle!"

"Huh? Are you a student from Cuss…from Kasugayama High?" The first year boy asked, barely catching himself out of habit.

"Uh oh…" Tatsuya muttered under his breath.

"Okay! Time to introduce to one and all the headlining act, yours truly, Mi-" Eikichi began to say as he struck a pose.

"This guy's got Cuss High emblems on him!" The first year boy cried.

Suddenly, all three students were around Eikichi and spinning him like a top, snatching every Cuss High emblem they could off of him until they fled and Eikichi collapsed on the floor, Lisa laughing above him.

"Goddamn cursed creeps! What's with this school!? What did I do to deserve this!?" Eikichi cried as he pushed himself to his feet and glared at Lisa, who continued to laugh at him.

"Serves you right for coming to Sevens with a Cuss High emblem on!" Lisa laughed.

"WHAT!? Okay, back up! This whole thing happened because YOU summoned that Joker!" Eikichi argued. "So take some responsibility and do something about this!"

"Kehhei! Now you've crossed a line, buster! How was I supposed to know at the time what would happen!?" Lisa demanded. "And what's with all the big talk!? You're just an Undie Boss who pervs on people by yanking their pants down! Undie Boss! Undie Boss!"

Tatsuya was beginning to think the entire seriousness of their current objective was fading and fading fast. Eikichi supported this entirely, since he allowed Lisa to bait him.

"That's rich, coming from you! You're a frickin' white girl, but you talk Japanese when you're not spouting nonsense words!" He argued. "Do you even know what country you're from!? Maybe I should give you a name you can understand easier! You're Ginko from now on! Ginko Ginko Ginko!"

"Fanna! No you don't! You're not saddling me with a lame nickname like that!" Ginko argued.

Tatsuya had to admit, Ginko seemed to suit her.

"Tatsuya!" Ginko cried, obviously looking to him for agreement, which she wasn't gonna get.

The three were interrupted, however, by the door to the principal's office opening and two women walking in, one with straight black hair and the other with curly black hair.

"Ooh! Now what do we have here?" The straight haired woman, who for some strange reason was wearing a jacket with hearts on her chest, hummed. "Ciaaao! Wait a sec…things seem to be getting steamy here. C'mon, kids, not everyone wants to get caught in a lover's quarrel!"

"How is this a lover's quarrel!?" Eikichi and Ginko yelled in unison, staring at the woman as if she'd gone mad. Until they realized they didn't know who she was. "…Wait, who're you?"

They then glared at each other, realizing they spoke in unison.

"At times, I'm an ambitious reporter! Other times, a mild-mannered editor! But my true identity is…a rising star of Coolest Magazine's editorial staff: Maya Amano! Nice to meet you all." The woman, Maya, grinned.

"Me, I'm Yukino Mayuzumi. I'm a freelance photographer…an apprentice one, anyway." The other woman, Yukino, smiled.

"Really!? Here, babe, take my picture for the cover of the-" Eikichi started to say as he posed…only for Ginko to hit him in the back of the head. "Gwuh!?" Eikichi grunted.

"We're Eikichi Mishina, Lisa Silverman and Tatsuya Suou." Tatsuya introduced the three of them, seeing as Ginko and Eikichi seemed to have no intention of doing so.

"Coolest…that's been popular lately, huh? What's one of its staffers doing wandering around a high school?" Ginko questioned, suspicious.

"We came here to do interviews for a special report we're working on, called 'The Rumors of High Schoolers'." Maya explained. "The 'emblem curse' here at Sevens is the best known one after the 'Joker Game', you know. But it's been chaos since just after we got here. No one's willing to give us an interview! What's going on here!? Can you tell us what you know? Is it related to what we came to interview people about?"

"Uhmmmm…a-about that…we don't really know anything…" Ginko stuttered as she lied, horribly. "Right, Tatsuya?"

Masking his thoughts, Tatsuya nodded in agreement.

"Hmmmmmm…I'm not sure I buy that." Maya stated.

"True stories, babes! We're not looking for Sevens' principal and we certainly never got stomped by any Joker!" Eikichi swore.

Tatsuya's eyes widened, considering Eikichi just singlehandedly destroyed their lie. He swore Ginko was twitching with the urge to punch him again.

"Stomped…? So you kids DO know something!" Yukino's eyes narrowed.

"If you're trying to cover it up, I take it that it's a pretty big scoop!" Maya theorized.

_More like it's an unbelievable and dangerous kind…_ Tatsuya thought.

"In which case…we're definitely not letting you go!" Maya proclaimed as she stepped closer to Eikichi, who backed away at how close she was.

"Now hurry and fess up, or I'll make you regret it!" Yukino threatened, causing Eikichi to back up more.

Tatsuya was honestly surprised at that, and maybe a little scared. The curly haired photographer reminded him of himself when she spoke like that, at least when he got angry.

Suddenly, the door opened again, cutting off any reply. Who came in, however, was most certainly not a welcome addition.

Two demons stood before the three high schoolers and two women, startling the women.

"Heehee…found jouuuuuu…Jo…Joker's orderssssss…you kidsh…kill kill kill killlllllllllllllllll!" One of the demons said as it held out the knife it wielded.

"Look out! You gotta stay back, ladies!" Eikichi cried, now entirely serious as he swung his machine gun disguised as a guitar case off his shoulder.

At the same time, Tatsuya took his katana that he had hidden on his back behind his jacket that morning ( he still had no idea how he was supposed to hide this thing) out and Ginko quickly slipped on the gloves she had carried in her skirt's pockets.

Before the three could do anything, however, the demons shot forward and swung their knives at Maya and Yukino, who barely leaned back to avoid them. In the corner of his eye, Tatsuya noticed Yukino's movement was smooth and natural while Maya's was not.

"What was that for!? School violence is so passe, I'll have you know!" Maya lectured, not understanding the situation.

Before Tatsuya, Eikichi or Ginko could explain, however, Yukino cut in.

"Maya-san, these guys aren't human anymore! They're demons! You have to run!" Yukino warned.

"H-how do you know about demons!?" The three high schoolers cried in unison, their eyes identically wide. Tatsuya might've found it comical if the situation wasn't so dire.

"D…demons!?" Maya cried, eyes wide in shock. "B-but if I run…"

"I'll handle this, so get going!" Yukino ordered before she began to speak almost to herself. "Let's see, it's been a while…but here goes!" Yukino began to lift her right arm when…

"You can hear me, right? My guardian angel…" Maya said as she raised right arm to the side so it was parallel to the ground, a perfect mirror to what Tatsuya had done when… "Come to me!"

Suddenly, a Persona morphed out of Maya and floated above her head. Yukino reeled back in surprise, but Tatsuya, Eikichi and Ginko fell to their knees.

This sight…this Persona…it brought tears to Tatsuya's eyes and he found himself crying for the first time in ten years. And yet, he could feel his heart filling with warmth.

The Persona then spoke, in a voice heavily similar to Maya's own.

_"I am Maia…the workings of the Pleiades shining in the heavens shall be yours, bearer of the full moon…"_

Cards of light suddenly melted into the skin of one of the demons, causing it to vanish from the brightness of it all.

Still wide eyed in shock, but needing to take care of the other demon, Yukino raised her right arm so it was straight up, perpendicular to the ground.

"…P…Persona!" She called and a Persona morphed out of her before floating above her head. The Persona then began to speak, its voice heavily similar to Yukino's own.

_"I am Vesta…in your destiny to accompany your true love and lead the lost ones, I shall protect you with my flame…"_

A flame identical to the one Tatsuya had casted earlier engulfed the remaining demon and it became nothing but a pile of ashes.

"Whew…is everyone okay?" Maya asked as she turned back to the teenagers. Considering all three of them were crying and the looks on the two women's faces, Tatsuya was sure them made quite the sight. "Whoa! What's wrong? Were you that scared?" Maya asked, worried.

"Huh…? Why am I crying? It's so strange, but…" Ginko sniffed, tears still falling down her cheeks. "I can't stop…"

"It's…like a nice memory…warmer than what I felt with Tatsuya and Ginko…like a hug from my mom…" Eikichi added through his own tears.

"It's like…we came home…" Tatsuya whispered as he wiped his eyes. And yet, something still felt like it was missing.

"How weird…I felt it too. What was that wave of nostalgia…?" Maya asked as the three high schoolers gathered themselves.

"Could you elaborate? I know more than you'd think about demons. Maybe I could help you kids out a bit." Yukino offered.

The three teens shared a look before they nodded in agreement and launching into their tale.

"You mean you three have the same powers I do? Persona, huh…so it's not just my guardian angel…" Maya mused as they finished their tale. "And wow, I can't believe you're a Persona user too, Yukki!"

"I've been a Persona user since I played the Persona Game back in high school…that was three years ago." Yukino explained, a nostalgic smile forming on her face. "Have you guys never played it?"

"Persona Game!?" Ginko and Eikichi cried in unison.

Tatsuya's eyes widened and he tensed in shock at the words.

"I played a kid's game like that in a dream once, but…" Eikichi said, his eyes still wide as he trailed off.

"A dream…!?" Ginko gasped.

"A shrine…" Tatsuya whispered so softly nobody could hear him, even as everyone turned to Ginko.

"Lisa, right? Know anything about this?" Yukino asked carefully.

"No, nothing…I've never played any game like that…" Ginko said, looking down sadly.

"Well, we can save your origin stories for later. Let's focus on where we should go from here!" Maya suggested.

"Haime!? Seriously!? You're gonna come along with us?" Ginko asked, eyes wide as she looked up.

"You three are chasing Joker himself, right? If we could catch him, that would be one hell of a scoop!" Maya grinned as she giggled. "Plus, if we go with you, maybe I can find out how I became a Persona user."

"I'll tag along. Now that I know this guy's in cahoots with demons, I can't sit back and do nothing." Yukino nodded in agreement.

"Hold on a sec! Our only lead is Principal Hanya, and he's not here. There's nothing for us to do even if you come along!" Ginko pointed out.

"Then let's start by putting an end to this madness!" Maya suggested. "If the principal is behind the chaos like you think he is, won't that draw him out of hiding?"

"But Maya-san, how are we supposed to deal with this? Do you have a plan?" Yukino asked.

Maya was silent for a moment as she thought before she snapped her fingers, her bright red fingernails catching the light.

"I know! Let's destroy all the emblems in the school. Getting rid of the cause of the problem should help, right?" Maya said.

"If rumors ARE coming true, the curse'll be lifted once the emblems are gone. But could that really be happening?" Yukino questioned.

"Think positive, guys! Even if it doesn't work out in the end, we have to at least give it a shot!" Maya encouraged, a bright smile on her face. "If I remember right, Sevens' emblem is based on the Pleiades, yeah? That design must show up somewhere else besides the emblems on the uniforms. Let's look for it!"

"Like…the clocks in the classrooms? Their faces have the same design as our emblem." Ginko suggested.

"Okay, friends and enemies of modern music!" Eikichi grinned. "Our fleeting youth isn't going to wait while we stand around. Let's hurry up and find those emblems!"

Tatsuya made a small, almost silent motorcycle noise without thinking as a sign of confirmation when a thought crossed his mind.

"Should we stop and get them weapons to use to defend themselves?" He asked aloud.

"Oh! I've got this covered!" Eikichi grinned. "Could I borrow you two fine misses for a second? I've got a special present for you as our new allies!"

The two women shared a look before Maya approached Eikichi, who took two hot pink guns out of his pockets, where he got them Tatsuya had no idea, and passed them to the heart wearing woman.

"This is so cute! Can I really have one? Look, Yukki, they're a matching set!" Maya practically squealed as she took the guns, her smile as bright as the sun as she held them aloft.

"You…want me to use a pink gun…?" Yukino dead panned, pulling her ostrich beret down to hide her eyes. "Sorry…but I'm already carrying my favorite weapon!"

Suddenly, a knife slipped out of Yukino's jacket sleeve and she skillfully waved it in front of her as if she were fighting demons. Wisely, the three teens backed away, though Maya did not.

"Ooooh! Soooo coooooool, Yukki! Hey, check out my sweet skills!" Maya grinned brightly. She then took the two pink guns in both hands, aimed them at the far wall and fired several shots in a row.

Tatsuya, Eikichi, Ginko and Yukino were instantly on the floor to avoid the fire. Once Maya ceased, they all stood up, shook their heads in exasperation as Maya simply grinned brightly at them and went on their way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we go! The party's complete! I'm not sure how I'm gonna do the rumors in this story, since most rumors are for armor and weapons and stuff and I don't need to focus on that as much as the game would. The most I'll probably include is collecting the ultimate weapons, but that's it. So give me your opinions, how do you guys think I should handle the rumor system and the rumor mongers?
> 
> Also, does everything flow well? Half of this chapter (where Maya and Yukino join) was written already, so I hope it all goes well, especially Tatsuya (he is consistent right?), so please let me know if something seems off.
> 
> Well, that's it for now. Bye!


	3. The Tyrant Principal

And so, without further ceremony, Tatsuya, Eikichi, Ginko, Maya and Yukino (so referred to as, in Maya's own words, 'Yuuki and I are _way_ too young to be called Amano-san and Mayuzumi-san by you kids!' Yukino's response? 'Maya-san, we're 20 and 23'. Despite that, no complaints were brought up) began to traverse the classrooms and smash the clocks, informing the other students as they made their way through the school so the job could be done much faster with their help. Thankfully, most of the students complied, whether out of fear of the curse or just because they wanted to smash things, they heard both answers.

With the combined might of most of the student body, it didn't take long for the three teens and two adults to make their way from the third floor to the first, smashing clocks as they went, until the only one left was in the teachers' lounge.

When they made their way there, however, the amount of talking and yelling and panicking and fear was so loud that Tatsuya started to feel overwhelmed by it all. But then, as if an angel from heaven…

"Hey!" Ms. Saeko's voice cut through the room, silencing everyone and making them listen to her. "Enough is enough! Stop letting random rumors push you around! Honestly…what a headache…"

"Ms. Saeko!? What are you…" Yukino cried as she ran towards the teacher, an excited grin on her face as she turned around.

"Y-Yukino…?" Ms. Saeko gasped, a hopeful smile growing on her own face at the sight of the photographer. "It really is you, Yukino!" Without prompting, Ms. Saeko hugged Yukino tightly, pulling away with a bright grin to answer, "I transferred here last year. But never mind me-what are _you_ doing here? Don't tell me you're redoing high school…?"

"Oh, no, I'm on assignment!" Yukino shook her head with a laugh. "I have a part-time job as an assistant photographer, so I came to cover a story."

"Aiyah! Ms. Saeko and Yukino-san know each other?" Ginko cried as she looked from one woman to the other.

"She was a student of mine at my last school." Ms. Saeko explained. Tatsuya hummed in understanding as the teacher turned back to Yukino. "Your timing in coming here wasn't very good. As you can see, we're in a bit of a crisis…"

"Yeah, about that, there's something I need to tell you…" Yukino said before she began to explain everything, her voice quiet enough that anybody who was unaware of Personas didn't overhear her.

"Is it okay to tell her all this?" Eikichi whispered to Tatsuya.

"We can ask about it later." Tatsuya shook his head. There was no point in making a fuss about it now. If Yukino trusted Ms. Saeko with this information, then he did too.

Once Yukino finished her explanation, Ms. Saeko's eyes widened.

"A rumor caused all this!? Then the curse will lift when the emblems are gone…in that case, I'll help too!" Ms. Saeko smiled, though her voice was as soft as Yukino's, keeping their secret. She raised her voice then as she turned to Tatsuya. "Tatsuya! I take full responsibility here. You have my blessing to go and destroy all the emblems!"

"Right." Tatsuya nodded as he, Ginko and Eikichi each grabbed a broom and smashed the three clocks in the room all at once. Hearing the sound of them breaking was _incredibly_ satisfying, in Tatsuya's humble opinion.

"Alright, my lovelies! That should be the last one!" Eikichi proclaimed as he stepped off the box he used to reach the clock, dropping his broom to the ground.

"That means everyone should get better!" Ms. Saeko grinned, optimistic as can be as she turned to the three students who had reached the teachers' lounge first. All three carefully removed their bandages, checking to see if they had been cured…only to instantly slam the bandages back in place.

"It didn't work!" The girl cried in horror.

"Huh, that's weird." Maya sighed as she rubbed her forehead in thought. "I really thought that'd get rid of the curse…did we overlook something?"

"Oh, man, I think we're forgetting the biggest one…the enormous clock in the clock tower! It's still there!" Ginko cried in realization.

"And the design on it…" Tatsuya trailed off in realization.

"Is the same as our emblem!" Ginko finished with a bright, triumphant grin.

"So all we gotta do is smash that big clock and everything will be good, yeah?" Eikichi grinned, slamming his fist into his hand. "Alright! Let's-"

The PA system coming on unpretendingly cut the blue haired boy off and the voice that followed afterwards sent chills on all five Persona users' spines.

_"_ _Ahem! Attention all students! You will immediately cease all destructive activity within school grounds!"_ Hanya's voice ordered. _"As principal, everyone must obey my orders! Do you hear me? You will treat MY Seven Sisters High with respect!"_

With that said, the PA system shut off and the teachers' lounge was left in absolute silence until Ms. Saeko sighed.

"I suppose we have no choice, if the principal says so…" She said before turning back to the rest of the room. "Come on, everyone. The emblem hunt is over! Let's start cleaning up."

Without even one word of complaint, the three students in the teachers' lounge began to clean up the mess the three broken clocks had made.

"Huh? Why's everyone…" Maya trailed off, staring at the scene before her in confusion.

"There's a rumor going around…about how great our principal is…" Tatsuya whispered, his eyes widening as he realized what exactly that meant. Everyone was being affected by that rumor, which explained why they _praised_ such a _horrible_ person so easily! And…he wasn't affected…because…

"Damn Hamya…but if everyone's like this, there's not much we can do." Yukino cursed, clenching a fist tightly. "Anyway, don't we have a big clock to go break?"

"Right." Tatsuya, Eikichi and Maya nodded in unison and Tatsuya began to leave the teachers' lounge when Ginko stopped him.

"Wait a sec, Chinyan. Isn't the clock tower always locked? I say we find the key first." She said. "It's probably in the teachers' lounge somewhere. Let's try asking the teachers about it."

The experience was, in one word, painful. Talking to Mr. Oriri and Mr. Aishi was normally painful, what with all the 'oh really's and 'I see's they continuously say, but talking to Ms. Saeko shouldn't be and that kinda made Tatsuya's heart hurt. He could see where Yukino's anger at the situation was coming from, considering what _he_ knew of Ms. Saeko.

Thankfully, after a trip to the janitor's room (which consisted entirely of Tatsuya, Maya, Ginko and Yukino looking around for the key to the clock tower with no success while Eikichi talked to the Alzheimer's stricken janitor to no success…until he pointed out there was something, which turned out to be the clock tower key, around the janitor's neck. It was a huge waste of time), they were on their way to the clock tower.

As they did, Tatsuya spoke up.

"Say, Yukino-san…" He started as Yukino turned to him with a hum. "why'd you tell Ms. Saeko everything about the rumors?"

"Oh. Well, when I was in high school, my friends and I actually got involved in something similar to this after playing the Persona Game." Yukino explained. "One of our friends was…trapped and Ms. Saeko was in danger. So, we ended up splitting up and working on saving both of them and, once Ms. Saeko came back to herself, we told her everything. She's one of the few non-Persona users who are aware of what happened at St. Hermelin three years ago."

"How many of you were there?" Eikichi asked, his eyes wide.

"Let's see…there was me, Nanjo, Mark, Eriko, Yuka, Hidehiko, Maki, Reiji and Naoya…so nine of us." Yukino smiled.

"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!?" Ginko and Eikichi shouted in unison.

"I know, surprising, isn't it?" Yukino laughed. "But there's a lot more Persona users in the world then you realize. Maybe someday, we'll find some more."

"That would be neat, Yuuki! So many people with a guardian angel!" Maya grinned.

"As long as they use it for good…" Tatsuya trailed off, something flickering in the back of his mind. A…memory, he thought, but…he couldn't tell…

Suddenly, Ginko froze where she was walking beside Tatsuya.

"Tatsuya…my…my Persona's scared…I don't like this…" She whispered, the fear in her eyes visible.

"Hamya must be up ahead." Yukino noted. "Come on, let's keep going."

Without another word, the five continued their climb to the clock tower.

When they entered, Hanya was nowhere to be seen.

"It's so dusty here…my perfect hair is going to get mussed." Eikichi coughed. "Looks like Mr. Hanya's not here either. Let's hurry and break the big clock so we can get outta here."

"But that feeling a moment ago…what was it…?" Ginko asked, her voice soft.

Suddenly, a ghost appeared behind Eikichi and Tatsuya felt his eyes widen.

"What's the matter? Is there something on my face…?" Eikichi asked, thinking the looks Tatsuya, Ginko, Maya and Yukino were sending were for him.

"U-U-Undie Boss! Behind! Behind you!" Ginko stuttered, her face frozen in fear.

"Turn around, Eikichi." Tatsuya stated, his voice shaking the slightest bit. Eikichi did so and joined the other four in stunned silence.

The ghost, the teacher the janitor said died here?, was familiar…and radiated an overwhelming sadness and guilt.

"…not be…" The ghost said.

"…huh?" Eikichi asked, seeing as everyone else was silent still.

"I said…that time…must not be set free…I said it…so often…" The ghost repeated, before hanging his head and vanishing.

"He disappeared!" Maya cried. "But…I feel like I've…"

"…seen him before!" Eikichi and Ginko finished her sentence.

"Me too." Tatsuya confirmed, taking out his lighter and flicking it subconsciously.

"Hahahaha!" A voice suddenly laughed, cutting through the confusion of the previous moment.

"Ugh…Hamya!? Look, up there!" Yukino pointed up.

At the moment they did, a familiar feeling washed over Tatsuya.

"Joker!" He cried at the same moment as Eikichi and Ginko.

"Is that…Joker!?" Maya and Yukino asked.

And sure enough, there was Joker, floating in the air next to where Hanya stood on the upper catwalk of the clock tower.

"Principal Hanya! So you were mixed up with Joker!" Ginko growled.

"That's why you said all that stuff to me earlier." Tatsuya said, his eyes widening in realization.

"The emblem curse and everyone acting weird is all because you teamed up with Joker, isn't it!? Fess up!" Ginko accused.

"Foolish girl! How dare you? The 'emblem curse' is a divine punishment brought on by the students' poor conduct!" Hanya scoffed. "You fools forget that you're students and waste your lives worrying about dating and fashion! You brought this curse on yourselves! Though I didn't think the rumor Cuss High started would come true…but if they'd make a wish to Master Joker, the students' faces would return to normal in no time. Not only that, but following Master Joker is the essence of having a chance at a fulfilling life!"

"So what did he give you!?" Yukino demanded.

"Hahaha! Me, you ask? My wish was to become a principal beloved by his students…as well as this fine mane you now see!" Hanya laughed.

"Joker! Weren't you out for revenge on us!?" Eikichi cried. "What's the point in granting a stupid geezer's wish!?"

Joker didn't answer, instead turning to face the clock face.

"The seven Pleiades set the frozen time free…" Joker recited before he faced the Persona users below. "Revenge isn't my only motive. This is between myself, the Giver, and you, the Thief…a battle with Tatsuya Suou for my dream! I'll never let you destroy my dream again…I won't make the same mistake twice!"

"Joker…" Tatsuya whispered, feeling tears in his eyes that he didn't understand and an ache in his heart. He had no idea what Joker was talking about, but…his words hurt Tatsuya more than any attack from a demon ever could.

"Is he…crying…?" Maya asked, her eyes never leaving Joker as empathy and sympathy filled her eyes.

Joker simply shook his head, as if that could rid him of the tears only his voice hinted at.

"Time is free again…heed the sound of the bells that toll for your dreams!" He proclaimed. He then took out a flower, threw it to the catwalk the Persona users were on and vanished in a black sphere once again.

"Dammit! You're not going anywhere!" Eikichi cried as he swung his machine gun over his shoulder. He then jumped on one of the spinning gears, as if to go after Joker.

Tatsuya was right behind him, katana already out and at the ready. Before they could do anything, such as destroy the clock face, Hanya jumped down to the gear across from them.

"Okay, hold it right there!" Hanya ordered, taking out a giant double sided wrench.

"Gah! Get out of our way!" Eikichi cried.

"Come, fools! This tower will be your detention room! Glory to the Mask!" Hanya declared.

"Kehhei! And you call yourself a teacher!?" Ginko spat as she slipped her leather gloves on, looking ready to join Tatsuya and Eikichi on the gear if Maya hadn't grasped her arm to hold her back.

"Tough love must be applied to delinquent students. I'll teach you the dignity and authority of a proper principal!" Hanya swore. With a twisted grin, he raised his wrench as a figure morphed out of him, becoming a Persona. The Persona was a man wearing a black suit with a drill on his head and half a white, face like mask with yellow teeth and spikes on its forehead on each hand.

"You have a Persona!?" Eikichi shouted just a second before-

"Dark Young Legend!" Hanya shouted. The masks shook before what Tatsuya could only liken to a nuclear explosion went off and he quickly raised his arms to protect himself.

But it wasn't fire or even a nuclear blast, no. Instead, Tatsuya startled as he felt a cut form on his cheek as a dark tendril shot past him.

"What the-" He gasped, shocked at the attack.

"Tatsuya! You okay?" Eikichi cried from next to him. Turning, Tatsuya was startled as there wasn't a single cut on Eikichi.

"How are you-" He started to ask.

"It's like when we ran into those other demons earlier." Yukino explained as she wiped blood off her own cheek from where the darkness had attacked her. "Eikichi and Maya-san's Personas resist darkness, so they weren't injured."

"Tatsuya! Watch out!" Ginko suddenly shouted.

Tatsuya turned only to raise his katana quickly to block Hanya's attack as he leapt from his own gear to the one Tatsuya and Eikichi were on, locking the wrench against the katana.

"Not showing me any respect, eh? I'll teach you to treat your principal like that!" Hanya vowed before he pushed Tatsuya back.

For a single, heart stopping moment, Tatsuya feared that this would be it, that he'd fall to his death here, just like that teacher-

"Oh no you don't!" Eikichi cried, grasping Tatsuya's wrist and stopping his fall.

"Eikichi…!" Tatsuya gasped when he caught sight of Hanya raising his wrench again, intent on bashing it against the boy's skull. "Maya-san!"

"Ciao!" Maya shouted as Maia's nails turned into a claw, cutting into Hanya's arm and pushing him from one gear to the other.

"Gah!" Hanya cried out in pain, briefly dropping his wrench in an attempt to slow the flow of blood from the cut on his arm.

Using the momentary distraction, Eikichi pulled Tatsuya up on the gear once again.

"You alright, man?" He asked.

"Yeah. Let's get off before we _do_ fall, though." Tatsuya nodded. Eikichi returned the motion before the two jumped back to the platform the girls were on.

"What were you two _thinking_ , doing something like that?!" Ginko scolded them. "Tatsuya almost died thanks to you, Undie Boss!"

"Hey, hey, Ginko, it wasn't my fault, but I need your help with this!" Eikichi countered. "Let's do Earth Slice EX, as revenge for him almost killing us."

"Oh, fine, but you better not pull a stunt like that again, I can't have Tatsuya dying!" Ginko huffed.

"Says the healer!" Eikichi scoffed.

But even so, the two summoned Rhadamanthus and Eros in unison and called out their spells.

"Mamagna!" Ginko shouted.

"Straight Slash!" Eikichi shouted.

"Earth Slicer EX!" They finished in unison as the two spells fused to attack Hanya at the same time, forcing him back against the gear's axis.

"Tatsuya, you aren't going to let them show you up, are you?" Yukino smirked at him, causing his eyes to leave the two second years to meet hers.

"What did you have in mind?" Tatsuya questioned, curious.

"A good Blazing Burst ought to teach that Hamya a lesson or two." Yukino's grin was wide and ready for a fight. Tatsuya could feel a similar feeling blossoming in his own chest as he nodded in agreement.

Without another word, he summoned Vulcanus at the same moment Yukino summoned Vesta. In unison, they shouted out their spells.

"Maragi! Blazing Burst!"

The dual fire spells merged, causing an inferno to cover Hanya for the briefest of moments, leaving burns and smoke on his skin in its wake. The principal coughed, smoke having gotten into his lungs it seemed.

"So…you kids think you won, eh…?" He coughed. "Seems my discipline was lax…"

"More like completely out of line!" Ginko scoffed in turn, clenching her fists tightly, but it was too dangerous for her to jump on the gears to attempt to punch the man.

"Such ungrateful students…I won't have it!" Hanya shouted as he summoned his Persona again. "Dark Young Legend!"

"Not this time!" Maya cried as the masks began to shake and she raised her guns before firing in quick succession, two bullets to the Persona and one in Hanya's leg, forcing him to his knees. "Tatsuya-kun, now!"

"Flame Cut!" Tatsuya shouted as Vulcanus appeared above him, feeling a new cut form on his cheek as the darkness struck him a second before Vulcanus' flames unleashed. "Ginko!"

"Mirage!" Ginko casted as Eros appeared, stalling Hanya just as the principal threw his wrench at her, causing a bruise to form on her leg along with the three cuts she currently had. "Yukino-san!"

"Zio!" Yukino cried as Vesta became corporeal and unleashed a bolt of lightning, her user appearing almost ethereal despite the blood on her cheeks and arms from the damage she took. "Eikichi!"

"Hell yeah! Zan!" Eikichi grinned as Rhadamanthus brought down an almighty power on the disgraced principal, his bruises hidden and not a single drop of blood to be found on him.

"Whaaaaaaaat?!" Hanya shouted as he collapsed against the gear, utterly defeated with bruises, blood and burns all visible through his now torn suit, ash sticking to his cheeks. He was spent, unable to compress the wounds he suffered from and too tired to call on his Persona yet again.

"Hah! We won! Now tell us everything you know about Joker!" Ginko demanded as she summoned Eros to heal the entire group with Dia after Dia.

Suddenly, however, the whole clock tower began to shake and Maya and Ginko fell to their knees as Tatsuya, Eikichi and Yukino barely managed to stay standing.

"Wh-what the!?" Eikichi cried.

"What's going on?" Tatsuya asked.

"Careful, everyone! It's collapsing!" Yukino warned.

The five Persona users dropped to their knees, making sure to cover their heads and necks as all the gears began to fall until all that remained was the one Hanya still kneeled on as the clock face itself fell and shattered on the ground.

"Owwww…is everyone okay?" Maya asked as the shaking subsided.

Everyone gave off a confirmation grunt as they stood and reoriented themselves…only to turn and see Hanya attempting to escape through the hole where the clock face once was.

"Hey! Wait, you bastard!" Eikichi cried.

"Guidance sessions are over for today! So long as you defy Master Joker, you will never find peace!" Hanya swore, somehow still arrogant and smug despite the defeat and wounds he suffered from. He then leapt out of the clock face, screaming as he did so. Tatsuya… _really_ did not understand his principal.

"Isn't this the fourth floor? Eh…I doubt even that would kill him." Eikichi sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Welcome to life at Sevens." Tatsuya muttered. Somehow, Eikichi heard him and snorted a laugh.

Then, Tatsuya noticed that Maya had picked up the flower Joker threw at them.

_"A white achillea…war or battle…"_ The same voice from when Joker had left the yellow iris rang in Tatsuya's mind. It was distant…yet warm, as if from a fond memory that Tatsuya could only barely recall from the depths of his mind.

"Joker…he's so alone. He's struggling with a sin in the depths of his heart…" Maya said as she held the white achillea close to her heart. "He reminds me somehow of Tatsuya-kun…I feel like I know him from somewhere."

The feeling was mutual, as far as Tatsuya was concerned. And he had a feeling that he'd heard Maya say those words somewhere before too…but that was crazy, right? He'd never even seen her before today, so why…

"'I shudder as I behold his face. The moon reveals to me my own likeness. You Doppelganger, you pale companion! Why do you mimic my lovesickness, that tormented me at this place for so many nights in the past?'" Maya suddenly recited, interrupting Tatsuya's thoughts.

While everyone else was confused or shaking their head, Tatsuya felt only hollow. Like, this had happened before, but…something was still missing. Something was supposed to be at his side. Some _one_. His heart ached and he grasped his lighter tightly in his pocket, as if it were his only connection to the person he was missing. Perhaps it was, even. Or perhaps Tatsuya was simply latching on to something familiar, just as he did ten years ago when his world had crumbled around him.

"That's from a poem called 'Der Doppelganger'. Have you heard of it, Tatsuya-kun?" Maya asked.

"Yeah…I have…somewhere…" Tatsuya nodded, taking his lighter out and flicking it, even though it didn't provide any answers. It _did_ , however, force him to loosen his clenched fist and allow him to rub his thumb against the inscription he had long ago memorized.

"Uh, Maya-san…you're not suggesting that Joker is Tatsuya's doppelganger, are you?" Yukino asked, sounding highly concerned.

"Oh, no! I just thought there were some similarities! Ignore me, Tatsuya-kun!" Maya grinned as she shook her head.

"Wai! What should we do now? Hanya got away and took our only lead to Joker with him." Ginko pointed out with a heavy sigh.

"Think positive, guys! You have to, at times like this. We're not out of leads just yet." Maya said. "Let's chase the rumors! They'll surely lead us to Joker."

"Hey, that's a great idea! Hamya did say that the 'emblem curse' was started by some students from Cuss High." Yukino pointed out.

"Whoa there! There's no one at Kasugayama High whom the great Michel knows of that would start such a rumor." Eikichi defended his classmates. "We'd be wasting our time checking it out. If we're gonna search, let's start somewhere else."

"Well, the editor of our school paper is looking for info on Joker and rumors. Maybe she's found something by now." Ginko suggested. "We can probably find Kozy at Peace Diner in Yumezaki. How about it?"

"I think that sounds like a plan!" Maya grinned. "But we should all probably go get a good night's sleep, it's getting late."

"Yeah. We can start fresh first thing in the morning." Yukino agreed. "We'll meet up at Peace Diner. Tomorrow's a Sunday, so you kids should be good, right?"

"Yeah, I'm free." Ginko nodded.

Tatsuya grunted a confirmation. Though considering the fact that it was past his birthday and they were still in school…and wearing their winter uniforms…could it be possible that…

"I suppose the great Michel could spare some time in helping all of you." Eikichi sighed overly dramatically, cutting off Tatsuya's thoughts.

"Great! We have a plan!" Maya clapped her hands together happily. Just then, the door to the clock tower opened and a second year girl walked in.

"Ohmigosh! I heard the principal went to the clock tower to lift the emblem curse…did you see him!?" She cried. "W-wait…was he here when the clock tower was collapsing? No…he's not dead, is he!?"

"Yeah…he died…" Tatsuya nodded. He honestly didn't want to deal with Hanya again, so this was his hope. After all, if they were still going to school in their winter uniforms in July, that probably meant the rumors were affecting the school schedule, which meant if he said this, Hanya would…

"No…! He died trying to protect us…? Thank you dear principal…and farewell…" The girl said before she turned and left as quickly as she came.

"What was that about? I hope this doesn't start any weird rumors…" Yukino said.

"Let's not worry about that now, Yukki! It's dinner time! Let's go get ramen, on me!" Maya grinned.

And, sure enough, she dragged them all the way to Shiraishi Ramen and paid for everything they ate. And considering Maya ate the most, she had no right to complain.

* * *

Late that night, Maya laid in her bed, staring at the ceiling and listening to Ulala sleeping in the next room over. Her mind was simply _spinning_ after everything that happened today and she knew she should sleep, she'd eaten more than enough ramen that she _should_ be asleep, but her mind simply wouldn't calm down.

"Tatsuya-kun…Eikichi-kun…Lisa-chan…and Joker…why do they all…feel so familiar…?" Maya whispered to herself. After several minutes of silence, she groaned and ran her hands roughly through her hair. "I'm being such a scatterbrain, it's probably nothing!"

With that final, Maya firmly turned onto her side and closed her eyes tightly, holding Mr. Bunbun tightly in her hand.

* * *

Yukino was struggling to sleep as well, in her own apartment in the city. Finally sighing in defeat, she sat up and pulled out her cell phone, dialing a number she long since memorized.

It wasn't longer before the other line was answered.

"Hello?"

"Reiji, it's me. Listen, you work with Toro, right? Can you ask him about any rumors he's heard lately? There's a situation brewing in Sumaru City and I was hoping he could give me a hand."

"What kind of situation? Yukino?"

"It's…I'm not handling it alone, if that's what you're thinking, Mr. Lone Wolf. Philemon contacted some new kids, so I'm helping them out, showing them the ropes. If you could help me out, I'd be grateful."

"Geez, you're never so polite with me. Alright, I'll see what I can do, I'll get back to you in the morning."

"Thanks, Reiji. It's a big help."

"Yeah, yeah, you're lucky I was working late tonight."

"Heh, you couldn't kick my ass anyway."

"We'll see about that, Mayuzumi."

Yukino had never been so grateful for friends like Reiji then she was right now and the warmth of that realization made sleep come all the easier that night.

* * *

That night, Lisa dreamed of warmth, of friendship and shrines and love.

Eikichi dreamed of acceptance, of fun and art and family.

Tatsuya dreamed of promises, of light and protection and belonging.

For once, and for now, their dreams were not overshadowed by flames and fear and loss and trauma and pain and, though they forgot it all by morning, they treasured these dreams and the feelings they evoked in them, a sense of completion ringing true for all three as they dreamed of four children and their beloved Big Sis.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter is short, but I'm proud of the result. Also! The P1 canon I am using is the manga, so Naoya is the protagonist and the SEBEC quest consisted of him, Mark, Nanjo, Maki, Brown, Reiji and Eriko while Yukino and Ayase did the Snow Queen quest originally on their own until the rest of the group came to help them out and then they finished it alone. Only thing I change is that Maki does remember what happened whereas in the manga she doesn't.
> 
> Also, I hope I'm handling the emotions of the four kids well enough. But as you can see, I brought Toro in as a rumormonger to help Yukino out.
> 
> And yeah, I killed Hanya. One, he's annoying and a horrible person. Two, if he dies, the P1 characters get to help out at the school, if he lives then he's the one helping out. I dunno about you guys, but I rather the P1 kids help out, even if I can't find the dialogue for what happens with that choice. Oh! And as for the Velvet Room, I'm gonna add that in next chapter, so don't worry, Igor, Nameless, Belladonna and the Demon Painter will be here soon!
> 
> I…can't think of anything else to say, so…see you all next time!


	4. No Longer Boss

Tatsuya was up earlier than usual the next day, intent on avoiding even the possibility of encountering his parents or his brother before he went to the diner. By the time Peace Diner opened, he was already dressed in a white t-shirt, his red hoodie, jeans and tennis shoes, with his katana hidden under his jacket, and walking out the front door.

He decided against taking his motorcycle today, considering they'd probably be walking around and it would be a bit of a hassle to carry it everywhere with him. Besides, walking to Yumezaki didn't take too long.

In fact, it wasn't long until Tatsuya entered the area and promptly found an arm thrown across his shoulders.

"Ahh, Tatsuya, you are fortunate to have arrived at the same time as me." Eikichi's voice said and Tatsuya turned to see the blue haired boy winking at him.

"Let me go." Tatsuya huffed, shrugging the arm off easily. Thankfully, Eikichi willingly stepped back and stuffed his hands in his black leather jacket's pockets.

Just like Tatsuya, Eikichi wasn't wearing his school uniform, but instead a gray shirt under his leather jacket, with black jeans and a blue patterned kilt, boots and all his usual accessories of rings and chokers.

"Still, we're almost there, wonder where the three ladies are." Eikichi mused as he looked around.

Tatsuya had to admit he was right. They were on the street corner right near Peace Diner now and he hadn't spotted Ginko, Maya or Yukino anywhere yet.

"Give them a few minutes. They should be coming." He said aloud, however.

"Fine, fine. I suppose the great Michel could spend a few minutes waiting." Eikichi teasingly smirked, to which Tatsuya rolled his eyes.

Thankfully, Maya and Yukino showed up a few minutes later.

"Morning Tatsuya-kun, Eikichi-kun!" Maya brightly greeted them. "Where's Lisa?"

"She hasn't showed up yet." Eikichi shrugged.

"Should we go look for her?" Maya asked, sounding worried.

"Does anybody know where she lives?" Yukino questioned, that seemed to be the most prudent course of action.

"I do." Tatsuya spoke up. "She lives near Sevens. C'mon."

"Right! Lead the way, Tatsuya-kun!" Maya grinned.

Tatsuya didn't say a word in response, but simply led the group back to Rengedai. It wasn't a long walk by any means and they soon found themselves in front of the Silverman Manor.

"Oh? Can I help you?" An older man wearing a black hakama greeted them as he stepped outside.

"Hello there." Maya smiled. "We were wondering if Lisa was home?"

"Ah, so you are friends of my daughter, then?" Mr. Silverman smiled. "I'm sorry, but her tea lessons are about to-"

"Ngh Hoh Yi!" Ginko cried as she ran out of the house and stuffed her shoes on, cutting her father off. Unlike her father, Ginko wore a light orange tank top and a black mini skirt, with her hair tied up as it normally was. "I'm going out!"

"Now, Lisa, a proper Japanese lady is modest, quiet, obeys filial piety and respects the rules of the household." Mr. Silverman scolded.

"Kehhei! Shut up! Ever looked around at Japanese ladies these days!? They go to clubs and party all night with guys! I'm doing exactly like you asked!" Ginko snapped, glaring at her father before she marched forward, grasped Tatsuya's arm and pulled. "Let's go, Chinyan. We're wasting time."

Tatsuya didn't say anything and neither did anyone else. Honestly, it seemed more like Eikichi had been shocked into silence while Maya and Yukino weren't sure _how_ to react.

Thankfully, it seemed Ginko had calmed down all on her own by the time they reached Yumezaki once more.

Unfortunately, that was the exact moment Tatsuya felt himself trip and suddenly everything was _blue_.

Looking up, Tatsuya was surprised to find himself in what appeared to be a club, with a piano player and a singer standing further back. In another corner was an easel and a painter of some sort, who was possibly painting the performance. Turning to the side, he could see Ginko and Eikichi had also ended up tripping as they were still on the floor with him while Maya was pushing herself up, all three looking as confused as he felt.

Yukino, however, seemed unaffected as she looked around the room.

"Welcome to the Velvet Room." A voice suddenly greeted them and Tatsuya whirled around to see an old man he hadn't noticed before sitting in a chair in front of the stage. The man's nose was _long_ and his smile was wide, almost creepily so. "This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. We have been waiting for you at the command of our master, Philemon. My name is Igor."

" _I am Belladonna_

_I praise visiting warriors_

_Who challenge the monster called thyself"_ The woman, Belladonna, sang.

"I am Nameless…a pianist who opens the shuttered doors of one's soul…" The pianist, Nameless, said.

"I'm a demon painter. My art depicts the gods and demons that dwell within man." The long haired painter, Demon Painter apparently, smirked.

"We four have been charged with aiding you in awakening new souls; new Personas. I am delighted to make your acquaintance…" Igor smiled. "This is quite the interesting group you have." His eyes landed on Tatsuya. "You are the Sun, number 19 of the major arcana, representing happiness, joy, energy, optimism and accomplishment." His eyes then went to Ginko. "You are the Lovers, number 6 of the major arcana, representing a crossroads, love and understanding others." He then turned to Eikichi. "You are the Death, number 13 of the major arcana, representing metamorphosis, deep change, regeneration and cycles." His eyes darted to Maya. "You are the Moon, number 18 of the major arcana, representing creativity, inspiration, dreams, madness, illusions, fear, fantasy, the subconscious and trickery." Finally, his eyes landed on Yukino. "You are the Empress, number 3 of the major arcana, representing mothers, prosperity, creativity, sexuality, abundance, fertility, protection and comfort." Then Igor's smile widened if that was possible. "The next time you all visit, you shall step closer to finding what you seek with the power of the Wild Card to use on the difficult journey that lies ahead of you all. Farewell."

"W-wait!" Tatsuya cried, but the next thing he knew, he was back on the sidewalk outside Peace Diner. Quickly, he turned to the others. "Was that-"

"Not a dream." Yukino reassured. "The same thing happened with my group, Igor called us over once, then we later found the door and were able to go there to summon new Personas besides our main ones."

"Seriously?!" Eikichi grinned, looking excited.

"In a bit, yes. But right now, we've got work to do." Yukino smirked before she led them into the diner.

* * *

Once they did, Ginko looked around for Kozy, only to return to the group with a sigh.

"That's weird…Kozy's not here. I thought she'd be munching on a Big Peace Burger…" She said.

"We might've gotten here _too_ early then." Tatsuya awkwardly acknowledged, rubbing the back of his neck.

"No kidding…not even Fatty can spend _all_ her time here." Eikichi agreed, though Tatsuya couldn't agree with how he worded it.

Just then, the sliding doors opened and a blue haired girl Tatsuya recognized as a first year at Sevens walked in.

"Huh? Hey, is that you, Lisa-san? Fancy meeting you here!" The girl grinned as she waved and approached the group.

"Huh…? Oh yeah, you're on Kozy's newspaper staff…umm…Chikarin?" Ginko guessed.

"Ooh, didn't remember me for a minute there, huh? Well, that's okay, it clicked in the end! Yep, that's me, Chikarin." The girl, Chikarin, her full name was Chika Ueda Tatsuya was sure, teased the blonde girl good-naturedly.

"Perfect timing! Have you seen Kozy?" Ginko asked.

"Ah, thanks for reminding me! I was looking into the emblem curse with Kozy-senpai!" Chikarin nodded. "She found out the Cuss High guys who spread the rumor about the disease were at Zodiac, so she went to infiltrate the club and talk to them."

"Pfffft…'infiltrate'? I didn't know Fatty had it in her to pull off a stealth mission." Eikichi snorted.

"Hey! Pay attention, Undie Boss! Sounds like it was Cuss High students who spread the rumor about the disease!" Ginko spat, glaring at the blue haired boy.

"There's no way my guys would stoop to that! I didn't teach 'em to be cowards! Fatty must have gotten some bad info." Eikichi snapped, glaring right back.

"But even Hanya said that Cuss High did it!" Ginko argued. "That's two witnesses now! Are you still gonna try and play dumb!?"

"E-even if it's true, I bet it was just out of jealousy. If I go and yell at 'em, those rumors are gonna-" Eikichi started to say.

"Alright, that's enough." Yukino cut in. "We get the point. Let's just go to Zodiac and learn the truth for ourselves. And if Cuss High students started the rumor, we'll have Eikichi set them straight. Okay?" Tatsuya could see then why her arcana was the Empress. She really DID sound like a mom.

"Zodiac's that club not far from here, right? Well, shall we head on over?" Maya suggested.

"Yeah." Tatsuya nodded as he took point to lead them out.

Of course, as they left the diner, he couldn't help but overhear a rumor that there was a new Leader at Cuss High. One who was stronger than the Boss.

He had a bad feeling about all this all of a sudden.

And, of course, it didn't help that Ginko and Eikichi were arguing again the whole way to the club.

"Kehhei! Those Cuss High students were the ones who really spread that rumor. I bet Undie Boss was a part of it too!"

"I'm the one who should be saying 'kehhei' here! My guys would never do that! And I'm not taking this airhead's word that they did!"

"Sheesh, they're at it again." Yukino sighed as they walked and, yeah, Tatsuya agreed.

No matter how short of a walk it was to Zodiac, listening to those two arguing the whole time was exhausting.

* * *

Things weren't good as soon as they entered the club. While Ginko and Eikichi had thankfully stopped arguing, Tatsuya heard a familiar voice speak as soon as he entered the club.

"Sister! I had a feeling you'd be here…come on, let's go back together!" Noriko Katayama, a second year who Tatsuya only knew because she'd come by his classroom so often lately, pleaded. And of course, the one she was talking to, pleading with, was none other than Anna Yoshizaka, Tatsuya's own classmate, well former classmate since she'd dropped out after her accident, the senpai Noriko respected more than anyone else, going as far as calling her 'sister' instead.

"Aiyah! Noriko's here too!?" Ginko cried as her head whipped towards the girl. "Looks like she still hasn't given up on Anna Yoshizaka…" There was pity and empathy in Ginko's eyes as she stared at Noriko then.

"Still, it's not safe for either of them here…especially if something to do with Joker's here…" Tatsuya commented, feeling worry naw at his mind. It grew even more when Noriko cried out again and his eyes landed on Anna fully.

She had a cigarette hanging uncaringly between her lips.

"Sister, no! You can't keep that up or it'll ruin your health even worse! Then you'll never run again…" Noriko said. Anna, however, remained completely silent. "Sister…am I that much of an annoyance to you?" Noriko looked down, her hands trembling in anger and so many other emotions before she screamed, "You idiot!" Then she threw Anna's running shoes at her and fled the club, running right by Yukino with tears in her eyes.

Before Tatsuya could do anything, he didn't know what he wanted to do, but he felt like he should do _something_ , Yukino was already walking towards Anna with a determined step.

Once the photographer reached the high school drop out's side, she spoke.

"Don't do this. Trying to be something you're not isn't cool." Yukino said, her voice soft and empathetic, yet strong in an attempt to get through to Anna. Her voice reminded Tatsuya of both a mother and someone who knew _exactly_ what they were talking about.

"…who're you?" Anna finally asked, her voice flat and almost toneless, sounding more like a robot than the Anna Tatsuya remembered from class.

"Me? I'm Yukino Mayuzumi. Just…an apprentice photographer." Yukino smiled slightly.

"…and why are you getting in my business? Take a hike, will you?" Anna scoffed, yet she still sounded so _lifeless_.

"You should take the advice people give you. You're the one who'll regret it if you don't." Yukino gently explained, not pushing and yet refusing to fully back off either.

"Wow, that's stupid." Anna stated without a trace of inflection in her voice as she stood up and began to leave, completely ignoring the shoes Noriko had left. She paused, however, when Yukino spoke up again.

"I'm surprised you're not getting angry..." The photographer stated.

"…it wouldn't change anything. I hate annoyances like this." Anna explained, not turning back to look at Yukino even as she spoke before she once again left the club, not stopping or looking back even once.

Yukino quietly sighed as she bent down and picked the discarded shoes up, putting them in her bag for safe keeping.

And then…things got worse.

"Whoa, whoa, what's with the preaching in our place? You think you're hot shit or something!?" A Cuss High student demanded. Now, Tatsuya wasn't one to judge, but based on how the guy was acting, he was _pretty_ damn positive this casually dressed guy goes to Cuss High.

"You mopes are Sevens students, yeah? Better head straight home after school or your scaaaaary principal's gonna get ya!" Another boy grinned as he mocked Tatsuya and Ginko.

Tatsuya glared at the boys and Ginko looked ready to _throttle_ them as they and one other attempted to surround them, but both of them were gently pushed back as Eikichi stepped forward. Somehow, the image of a knight in shining armor briefly flashed in Tatsuya's eyes, but he had a feeling this wouldn't end as well as the Boss probably hoped.

"That's enough, everyone! I think we all need to be shinier, happier people here. You don't want to make me mad, do you?" Though he spoke in his normal voice, the underlying threat was obvious to everyone in the club as Eikichi spoke, his smile more like a scythe slash across his face than a genuine smile.

"M-M-Michel-san!?" The last boy cried, his face paling as soon as he realized who was with the Sevens students.

"Wh-who gives a damn about you anymore!?" One of the boys, being stupidly brave, said. "No one'll listen to you! You're not our Boss no more!" The other boys nodded in agreement, the fear in their eyes being replaced by stupid, stupid bravery.

"What…? You want to repeat that, you worthless punk!?" Eikichi demanded, his scythe like smile vanishing as he now openly glared at the boys challenging his power.

"We got a new Leader! And he's way, WAY stronger than any Boss!" The first boy bragged like the _idiot_ he was. "All your cronies at Cuss High have switched sides for our new Leader, Sugimoto-san!"

"S-Sugimoto!? You mean _Hiroki_ Sugimoto!? HE'S the Leader at Kasugayama High…?" For a moment, Eikichi's anger was replaced by complete bewilderment and shock, but he quickly recovered, stepping closer to the bragging boy and sharpening his glare. "Quit joking around!" Briefly, Eikichi's aura flashed blue, visible to all, and the two boys who hadn't been bragging fled as if the devil himself was licking at their heels, abandoning their bragging friend, who fell back and attempted to backwards crabwalk away from the terrifying Eikichi.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaah! H-h-help me…!" He begged before Eikichi grabbed him by the scruff of his t-shirt and lifted him off the ground.

"What was that about the new Leader being stronger than any Boss? Think you can say that again!?" The blue haired boy snarled.

"I-it's the rumor going around! I just heard everyone say that 'Kasugayama High's new Leader is stronger than the Boss'!" The boy frantically explained, now truly terrified.

"So there's a new head honcho right under the old one's nose…? Doesn't that sound a little sudden?" Maya prompted thoughtfully as she calmly observed the scene before them.

"Especially considering everything else that's been going on too." Tatsuya nodded in agreement.

"I agree. Sounds like the result of another rumor…maybe that Sugimoto's in league with Joker too." Maya theorized.

"It's sure possible. There's no way he could take over an entire school that quick without something up his sleeve." Yukino agreed as she adjusted her bag and stepped closer.

"Let him go, Eikichi. We need to talk to him some more." Tatsuya said as he stepped closer and placed a hand on Eikichi's shoulder. The blue haired boy grumbled and glared, but he listened and set the boy down, allowing Maya to approach him.

"By the way, I'm sure you know the rumor about Sevens' emblem being cursed." She said and right then, Tatsuya actually believed she was a reporter, considering how she was leading up to her question. "From what I understand, that rumor started at Cuss-I mean, Kasugayama High. Do you know anything about it?"

The boy looked away, attempting to avoid the question, but then Eikichi stepped forward and the boy flinched before quickly answering.

"We spread that rumor cause the Leader told us to! He said he'd throw mud on Sevens' reputation cause he hated 'em…" He said, talking fast in an attempt to keep Eikichi from hurting him.

"Kehhei! What's up with that!? Why would this Hiroki guy have such a grudge against our school!?" Ginko cried, annoyed and frustrated.

"We'll just have to ask him in person!" Eikichi declared. "Hey! Where's Hiroki now?"

"H-h-he's here, at the secret lounge further in…" The boy admitted, trembling in his fear now.

"A secret lounge!? I'll smack the smile off that cocky bastard's face!" Eikichi swore, heading to the bar to ask about said lounge when Ginko grabbed his arm and forcefully pulled him back.

"Hold you horses there, Undie Boss!" She shook her head, calmer now, before she turned to the boy. "Hey, was there a girl called Kozy here? She was investigating the emblem curse rumor too."

"I don't know no Kozy. Though there was this girl, said her name was Miyabi Hanakouji, who went to see our Leader…" The boy said.

As soon as Kozy's real name started to slip past his lips, both Tatsuya and Ginko frantically tried to shut the boy up, but it was too late, the damage was done.

"WHAT!? Did you just say Miyabi Hanakouji? Hanakouji-san went to see Hiroki!?" Eikichi cried. "I…I gotta go!" With that, he ran through the club, towards the side door.

"Wait, Eikichi-kun! It's too dangerous to go alone!" Maya cried in warning, but her words came too late. Eikichi was already opening the door and on the other side.

"Aiyah!? The Undie Boss took off by himself…" Ginko sighed. "Well…Undie Boss aside, we can't turn our backs on Kozy. We should go after him!"

"Right." Tatsuya nodded and they did so without further fanfare.

* * *

…Unfortunately, someone spread a rumor that the second floor of the club, leading to the secret lounge, was a maze and it just so happened to be filled with demons. Of course.

Making matters even worse, they needed a mask in order to get into the lounge in the first place. Thankfully, according to a staff member they found, there were spare masks in a box in a room, which they managed to find in a staff room. They'd ended up finding two of those, actually, and according to the people in side, all wearing the same masks that were in the boxes, white with a yellow border and three circles, and talking about how these gatherings were required of those who had their ideals granted by Joker, though they kept mentioning a Lady too…

In any case, it wasn't _too_ long before Yukino spoke up.

"This feeling…it's Eikichi. He's calling for us, Tatsuya. Just up ahead." She stated.

"I feel him." Tatsuya nodded in agreement.

After that, it only took some more demon fights before they reached their destination, the secret lounge.

* * *

Once they got inside, Tatsuya felt both frozen and full of fire as he took in the scene before him.

In the middle of the secret lounge was Eikichi, on the ground as he was mercilessly kicked by masked boys, most likely Cuss High students, from all sides. The blue haired boy was on his side, clutching his stomach against, no doubt, where a bruise had formed.

The kicking only ceased when another boy, obviously Sugimoto, raised a switchblade in the air. Standing at his side, covering her eyes, was Kozy.

"Oh, man, check it out! The Boss! What're you holdin' your stomach for? Gotta take a shit? Want me to drop your drawers for you?" Sugimoto mocked. Everyone, but Kozy laughed as Eikichi grunted and pushed himself to his feet. "Easy there! You know what's gonna happen to this chick if you bring out your death spirit right…" To make his point clear, Sugimoto raised his switchblade towards Kozy's face, causing the girl to 'eep' in fear.

Eikichi snarled, but didn't summon Rhadamanthus. Sugimoto lowered his knife and Eikichi's legs were kicked out from under him, sending him back to the floor as the attacking began anew. And yet, throughout it all, even as kicks hit his back and shoulders and knees and stomach and head…Eikichi did not let a single sound pass his lips.

"Heheh! You ain't shit without that death spirit of yours!" One Cuss High student mocked.

"What's with your 'I won't allow any bullying of the weak' crap? You only said that cause YOU'RE weak!" Another declared.

"That 'gathering' stuff seemed like a pain in the ass, but I'm glad I came if it meant seeing something this awesome!" A student who wasn't attacking Eikichi said, no doubt grinning behind his mask.

The beating continued on for a few more minutes, until Sugimoto raised his switchblade again and stopped it.

"Sheesh, you're a mess. Is Fatty here really that important to ya?" Sugimoto smirked.

"Whatever…she was only tagging along! But if anything happens to Hanakouji-san, you punks are in for a world of pain!" Eikichi swore through his gritted teeth, not showing an ounce of the pain he was no doubt feeling.

"Huh!? What're you talking about? Hanakouji's-" Sugimoto started.

"No! Don't tell him! Please don't tell him!" Kozy cried as she removed her hands and turned to the Leader, begging him with fear in her eyes. Sugimoto looked from the girl to the Boss and back before he started laughing.

"Ahyahahahahahahaha! You didn't know!? This hambeast here IS Miyabi Hanakouji!" He grinned and Tatsuya was sickened by it.

"R-really!? Are you really Hanakouji-san?" Eikichi asked, looking to Kozy only as he pushed himself up to his knees, eyes widening.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Kozy cried, bowing even as tears fell from her eyes.

"Why…why did you never say anything!? I-I…" Eikichi stuttered, clenching his fists as regret filled his voice. Now _that_ surprised Tatsuya, considering how he had treated Kozy up until now. And yet…he seemed to regret _his own actions_ rather than be angry with her.

"I was too embarrassed! I…I didn't want you to know, Eikichi-kun!" Kozy admitted as she straightened up, unable to stop the tears falling from her eyes.

"Were you guys goin' out or somethin'? You and Fatty would be the perfect match!" Sugimoto cut in then, a smarmy smirk on his face.

"It's nothing like that! I admired the Hanakouji-san I knew back then!" Eikichi protested. Kozy looked up sharply then, gasping as her tear filled eyes met Eikichi's.

"HER!? She's your sweetie? Ahyahahahahaha!" Sugimoto laughed, causing everyone else in the lounge to laugh too.

"You bastard…say whatever you want about me, I don't care. But anyone who laughs at her is a dead man!" Eikichi growled as he glared at the Leader and pushed himself up to his feet.

And that was when it struck Tatsuya: Eikichi didn't _care_ how Kozy had changed from the girl he knew. He still cared for her, loved her, and would protect her no matter what. And a part of Tatsuya…a part of him found kinship with that, he could understand that.

"Looks like you don't really get what kinda position you're in." Sugimoto stated before turning towards Kozy. "Watch closely!" He then swung his switchblade at the newspaper editor's face, creating a thin cut on her cheek, blood from it already beginning to drip down her face.

"Aaaah!" Kozy cried from a mixture of fear and pain.

"Ngh…Hirokiiiii!" Eikichi roared, moving to attack, only to be surrounded again. This time, however, he fought back instead, blocking blows and giving returning ones of his own. But it was to no avail as they kicked his legs out from under him and sent him to the ground once more, preventing him from getting back up.

"That Hiroki guy's the worst! Alright. I'm gonna bust out my Persona and-" Ginko started to say when Yukino grasped her arm to hold her back from lifting it.

"Wait! We storm in there, we hurt Eikichi's pride." The photographer argued. "I know it's tough to watch…but this is his moment!"

"You want us to just sit back…!? Fanna! No way! Let's go save them, Tatsuya!" Ginko said, turning to him imploringly.

Without thinking, Tatsuya reached in his pocket for his lighter and ran his thumb across the engraving.

"No. This is Eikichi's fight, his person to protect and defend. We let him." Tatsuya stated, his eyes on Eikichi and Eikichi alone.

"Tatsuya…" Ginko whispered, surprised.

It was that moment that Sugimoto raised his switchblade and the onslaught on Eikichi ceased. The blue haired boy, however, lowered his head as he rested on his knees.

"Alright, Hiroki. You got me. Do your worst. Just let her go." Eikichi stated. Kozy's head whipped towards him at his words, her eyes wide.

"Looks like you're finally gettin' the picture. Ahyahahahaha…fine!" Sugimoto chuckled. "I ain't gonna go soft and take only an arm here. To get back for what you put me through, I'm gonna have to take both arms and legs!"

"Are you still bitching about me pantsing you in middle school?" Eikichi asked in disbelief and exasperation.

"O-of course I am! It's your fault that…my girl dumped me for that!" Sugimoto cried.

"That wasn't it. She got fed up with the way you'd pick on anyone weaker than you." Eikichi shook his head.

"Th-that's a lie! You're lying! It was your fault! Everything is!" The Leader shouted, losing his composure. Sugimoto then raised his switchblade and the boys surrounding Eikichi backed away, allowing the Boss to push himself to his feet.

Then, without another word, Sugimoto punched Eikichi straight in the eye and followed up instantly with a flick of his switchblade, cutting the blue haired boy's right shoulder. Eikichi grunted in pain, but that was all he had time to do before the switchblade swung out again, this time landing a cut on Eikichi's face before he was punched in the same spot. Tatsuya had no doubt the hit caused Eikichi to bite his tongue as he didn't cry out this time, especially because his chin was sent up with an uppercut to his jaw right after.

Sugimoto backed up then, panting.

"That's right, dammit!" He cried between his heavy breaths. "The Leader is stronger than the Boss, you hear!?" The telltale blue light of a Persona began to surround Sugimoto then, but Eikichi, blood dripping from his mouth from a combination of the cut on his face and biting his tongue, grinned and it looked like a scythe cut across his face.

"In that case…I quit being the Boss!" The blue haired boy declared.

"…uh?" Sugimoto paused, the light from his Persona fading.

With only his scythe like smile, truly befitting his Persona and arcana, Eikichi used the moment of distraction to charge at Sugimoto. He punched him directly in the eye and followed it up instantly by a kick to the gut, sending the Leader to the ground. Eikichi kicked his hand then, sending the switchblade skittling across the floor, before he punched him in the face yet again, probably breaking his nose. Sugimoto bent forward then, as if to stifle the pain in his face and stomach combined. But Eikichi wasn't done. He finished by bringing his hands together and smashing them on top of Sugimoto's head, sending the Leader to the ground with no hope to get up.

Instantly, all the groupies and Cuss High students fled in fear, charging past Tatsuya and the others without a care.

"The Leader might be stronger than the Boss, but there's no way Hiroki Sugimoto is ever stronger than Eikichi Mishina!" Eikichi grinned. "After that beating you put me through, I'm calling it even between us."

With that settled, Tatsuya made his way over to stand beside Eikichi, briefly sending the former Boss an impressed look before glaring threateningly at Sugimoto in case he tried any other funny business. Tatsuya knew the rumors about him proceeded him.

Ginko, Maya and Yukino followed, Yukino with the same pride and impressed look on her face as Tatsuya. Ginko, on the other hand, moved to heal Eikichi while Maya observed them like an older sister, in case they started fighting.

But before any of them could speak, Sugimoto began blubbering.

"Bluhhhh! I-I'm zorry…j-just dun yank muh panssss!" He begged, his voice nasally due to his broken nose. It made him sound even more pathetic than he already was.

"I've got no right to act all superior about what Hiroki did. There's no difference between that and what I've done, not really." Eikichi sighed as Ginko's healing magic vanished and he wiped the blood from the side of his mouth. "I acted like a big hero, ordering my guys not to pick on the weak…but that was all just a front. Really, it was just an excuse to beat people up with my Persona…and that ain't how a man should act!"

"Aiyah!? What happened to the usual, self-centered, heedless goon we all know?" Ginko asked, her voice taking on a teasing tone as she grinned, nudging Eikichi in the stomach with her elbow. "If nothing else, that stuff you said a second ago was…uhh…i-it was pretty cool!"

"That's definitely true. Not bad, Eikichi." Tatsuya praised with a nod. He didn't smile, however. It just…felt weird to smile, right now. Or maybe Tatsuya was just being weird like always. He wanted to though. He wanted to smile with these guys and that…was a strange feeling. He never wanted to smile with others, not since eight years ago…

"Mmhm! Even without your Persona, you were brave back there, Eikichi-kun!" Maya smiled brightly, soaring high where Tatsuya fell short.

"Sorry for being so mopey…anyway, I'm done being Boss, starting now." Eikichi stated firmly. He then turned to Kozy and turned sheepish and embarrassed. "Uhh, Hanakouji-san? Are you…well, I guess you're not okay, huh…" He rubbed the back of his head and his cheeks tinted red in embarrassment. Tatsuya had to hold back a snort at the sight, it was cute to see how Eikichi obviously still loved her and how much he changed in the face of that love.

"I'm sorry, Eikichi-kun! I'm…I'm so sorry to have caused you all this trouble!" Kozy apologized, bowing in an attempt to avoid Eikichi's eyes.

"Don't worry about it." Eikichi shook his head as he stepped towards her. "The cut on your face, is it-"

"No! Don't look, Eikichi-kun…" Kozy cried as she turned away. "I'm sorry!" She then pushed past him, then Tatsuya and Ginko as well as she ran out of the lounge.

"Hanakouji-san!?" Eikichi cried as his eyes followed after her, too shocked to follow himself.

They were all silent for a moment, until Ginko sighed.

"You should give Kozy some space, you have to understand this had a big impact on her." She said.

"I…guess you're right…" Eikichi sighed, even though it was obvious every part of him wanted to chase after her right then and there.

"Alright, time to spill it all. If you don't you're gonna find there's way worse than getting your pants pulled down." Yukino threatened as she stepped closer to Sugimoto.

"Eep! I'll talk, I'll talk! What do you want to know!?" Sugimoto squeaked, crawling back in fear at the menacing image Yukino made, even more so with Tatsuya and Eikichi on either side of her.

"Why'd you order your stooges to spread a rumor that the Sevens emblem was cursed?" The photographer asked.

"Th-the student council president asked me to! He said he'd make me Leader with Master Joker's powers if I ruined Sevens' reputation!" Sugimoto confessed, eyes still wide in fear and panic.

"That Yasuo…I turned him down, so he went with the next name on his list!" Eikichi spat, his eyes burning with anger.

"The people here said something about a 'gathering' going on today. What did they mean by that?" Maya asked, sounding more like the reporter she was than the threatening tone Yukino had taken.

"There's an organization you have to join once Master Joker grants your ideal. I heard the gathering was an initiation ceremony for it." Sugimoto explained. "Wh-which reminds me…I also heard that one of their executives, 'Lady Scorpio', was gonna be at the gathering."

"So that's who the 'lady' everyone was talking about was…" Tatsuya mused quietly.

"This was gonna be my first time going, so that's really all I know! C'mon, just lemme go…" Sugimoto begged. He really _was_ a loser, geesh.

"Looks like you're telling the truth…" Eikichi mused as he observed Sugimoto before he glared at him harshly. "Alright, you're off the hook. But you better not go near Joker ever again, got it!?"

Sugimoto nodded frantically before he pushed himself up and fled.

"Well, we have our culprit. Next stop, the Cuss High student council president! I'm gonna beat the stuffing outta that guy!" Ginko swore, cracking her knuckles meaningfully.

Tatsuya didn't say anything, simply taking out his lighter and flicking it thoughtfully. Cuss High…why did he have such a feeling over it…?

Still, they made their way back to Zodiac easily enough, thankfully with not too many demon encounters this time. But by the time they got out, the sun was already beginning to set, and so Maya dragged them all to get ramen again. While there, Yukino brought up some rumors she'd overheard from an old high school friend of hers while Tatsuya himself remembered some rumors Toku, a homeless old man in the park, often told him. Even Ginko contributed with some rumors she'd overheard from Chikarin.

After that, they paid a visit to the Kuzunoha Detective Agency, where Chief Todoroki and Tamaki helped spread the best rumors about where they could buy armor and weapons, as well as items, cause Tatsuya had a _bad_ feeling they'd need to stock up on those, especially if they didn't want Ginko passing out from healing them so much.

After all that was finally done, Maya then insisted on walking all of them home, one by one, to Yukino _and_ the high schoolers' embarrassment. But they entertained her, anyway. She honestly reminded Tatsuya of a puppy sometimes.

And besides…something in him just…couldn't disappoint her, ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we are! Okay, I don't say this enough, but I love Eikichi. I love him so goddamn much and the way Atlus wrote him, cause he LEARNS and the main story SHOWS it (that's one thing I never like about how the 'bro characters', i.e. Yosuke and Ryuji are written. I love THEM, but the main story never address some of their flaws, being Yosuke's homophobia and that STUPID argument Ryuji has with Morgana, never mind how he gets greedy as all the thieves admittedly do as the story goes on. Junpei is excepted only because the main story shows him getting over his jealousy and he makes up for his poorer choices with his friendship with Minato (movie especially) and his relationship with Chidori) and he is adorable with Miyabi/Kozy. Also, yes, Tatsuya's feelings about Eikichi's feelings for Miyabi are supposed to parallel Tatsuya's own feelings for Jun.
> 
> Now, for the Velvet Room scene! That was based on the P1 manga single Velvet Room scene, where Igor brings Naoya and then talks about his arcana and Persona and then...boots him out, basically, lol. So that's what happened here and other Velvet Room scenes will be referenced, similar to the detective agency at the end here. If I feel there's a need to bring them in outside of references, I will, but for now the plan is references.
> 
> Also, you guys have any idea how hard it is to write Tatsuya not smiling? That end scene, I wanted him to smile, but he's not allowed to yet until the bunker/bomb shelter! Ugh! Thankfully, that's next chapter, and part of it's already written, unlike this one which is completely original (and longer than the boss fight last chapter, how?)
> 
> Well, that's all for now then! I'll see you see then!


	5. Sheltered Masquerade

It was the second day of August and the sun was shining down like it wanted everything to melt into the cement…and Tatsuya was walking into Cu-Kasugayama High School when he was pretty sure there should be no school at all.

Damn rumors becoming reality and _damn_ Hanya.

Still, it at least made finding this Student Council President Yasuo somewhat easier, he had to be at school after all.

Of course, they had made a quick stop at the Velvet Room on the way in Hirasaka, making sure they each had at least one new Persona (recommended by Igor, of course) and made sure all their weapons were good before they made their way inside.

And when they did, Tatsuya was shocked. And not just because his and Ginko's uniforms, never mind the fact that Maya and Yukino were adults, didn't draw a single eye, but everyone was running around like crazy, almost as if they were chickens with their heads cut off.

"Wow, it's jumping in here. Are they getting ready for the school festival or something? Seems like everyone's excited." Maya mused as she looked around.

"Yeah…Yasuo's in charge of it all." Eikichi sighed as he rubbed the back of his neck. "And here I thought he was just putting in extra effort for the school…that bastard…"

"He must've messed with the festival schedule through the rumors…" Tatsuya muttered. After all, he was _pretty_ sure, after living in Sumaru for the 18 years of his life, that school festivals happened in _November_ , not August.

"Kehhei! Must've been another scheme to make Cuss High look better!" Ginko growled, clenching her hands into fists.

"He's probably in the student council room on the second floor. I'll beat a confession out of that prick! Let's go!" Eikichi snarled, his own hands twitching to grab his machine gun disguised as a guitar case.

Everyone nodded in agreement and they set off. As they walked, Tatsuya observed just how hard the Kasugayama students were working. Right now…they didn't look like a school full of delinquents, not really. They looked almost normal, like any group of boys Tatsuya would expect to see at Sevens, really.

But at the same time, it felt…wrong.

Eikichi seemed to pick up on this too, whispering to Tatsuya,

"I've never seen these guys so active before…this is a lot better, I say. This was how I wanted the school to be. Fights will still break out once in a while, but we'd all have fun…but Yasuo's doing it all wrong. I'll make him pay for this…I want you to see to it, Tatsuya!"

Tatsuya nodded solemnly in agreement, he could see just how much trust Eikichi was putting in him for this. He wouldn't let him down.

* * *

As they continued making their way through Kasugayama High, Tatsuya heard even more information: how the Student Council was preparing masks for the masquerade which had him on edge and the rumor of the bomb shelter below the school that once you entered you could never find the exit (though there was ALSO a brief rumor of how you _could_ ).

But finally, they made it to the Student Council room…only to find no Yasuo. Of course, cause that would be _too_ simple.

Instead, they found an earnest Student Council member and a glib Student Council member, both suddenly singing Eikichi's praises and begging him to beat the snot out of Yasuo, a stark turn around from the rest of the school. And then they were off to the third floor.

As they left, Eikichi pulled them all aside.

"Something's not right…why are these guys sucking up to me all of a sudden? Did even the Student Council hate Yasuo?" He questioned.

"I think it's best if we stay on our guard. This could be a trap." Yukino warned.

"You're right, Yukki, but this is our only lead now. We have to follow it through to the end." Maya insisted.

They all voiced their agreement before heading back into the thick of the school.

* * *

As they walked, Ginko pulled on Tatsuya's sleeve, getting his attention with a quiet hum.

"Hey, Tatsuya, do you have a dream?" She questioned, her voice hesitant. Tatsuya only shrugged in response.

"What about you, Ginko?" He returned the question to her.

"Huh? Me? Well…I…um, I'll tell you someday." Ginko answered, avoiding eye contact and drifting back towards Yukino, who looked between the two of them with a curious and knowing eye.

Tatsuya just shrugged. He couldn't do anything until Ginko was ready to tell.

* * *

When they reached Class 3-1…Eikichi got quiet as he made his way over to a student.

"Er, wasn't there a transfer student here? Would you happen to know where he is now?" The blue haired boy questioned, nervously rubbing the back of his neck as he spoke.

"Transfer student? Oh, that guy…nah, he hasn't come to school lately. Maybe he's in the hospital or something, I dunno." The student shrugged carelessly.

"O-okay then…" Eikichi nodded in acceptance, his face lowered to the ground.

"What's up, Eikichi-kun? Do you know this transfer student?" Maya questioned, curious.

"N-nah, it's nothing…probably just my imagination…" Eikichi smiled, but there was an uncertainty to it.

"What the hell…? What's with Eikichi? He's all broody…" Ginko commented, though she was very subdued herself, avoiding the eyes of everyone in the room and gazing down at her folded hands instead.

"Eikichi is acting weird…and Lisa seems mopey too, for some reason. What's up with them?" Yukino muttered as they began to leave the classroom with still no sign of Yasuo, their new lead sending them to the basement of all places.

"Is Eikichi-kun looking for the transfer student? Because he seems relieved that he wasn't here. What's going on…?" Maya mused.

Tatsuya shrugged uselessly, though he could feel a lump in his throat, preventing him from speaking, and he felt as if his very core had been shaken, as if something very important was missing in that moment.

"You're acting strange too, Tatsuya-kun. Are you okay?" Maya asked, concerned.

Tatsuya just nodded, joining Ginko in avoiding everyone's eyes. He didn't want to talk, he didn't want to explain. He really couldn't and everything would be better if he could just fold in on himself right now.

"All three of you…? Strange…" Yukino muttered to herself this time before she gestured to Maya that the two of them should lead the way, allowing the three teenagers time to gather themselves together after…whatever just happened.

Tatsuya couldn't define it, no matter how hard he tried.

Thankfully, by the time they reached the basement, Tatsuya felt…well, not _normal_ per se, but close enough. And it seemed Ginko and Eikichi were doing much the same as the three of them joined Maya and Yukino in scouring the basement for any sign of Yasuo…only to find none.

"Hey, could that president guy be in here?!" Ginko asked from where she stood near a large pair of doors, which were tightly shut.

"Nah, that's-" Eikichi started to contradict when-

"P-please…let me go…" A voice begged from the other side of the doors. By his words, Tatsuya assumed it was Yasuo. "I-I was wrong…I'll never do it again…j-just forgive me…"

"Forgive you? Forget that! There's a whole laundry list of stuff we gotta ask you! There's no way we're just letting you go!" Eikichi spat, his fists clenched tightly and he looked ready to throttle the Student Council president.

"You're gonna tell us about the emblem curse whether you like it or not!" Ginko added, fire sparking in her eyes, despite her element being earth.

Without another word or even a shared look, Eikichi and Ginko burst through the doors after Yasuo.

"Wh-whoa! Hold on, you two!" Maya cried in alarm. She rushed after them, only for the doors to slam back shut right as she reached them, causing her to jerk back in surprise, Tatsuya catching her elbow to help keep her steady as he was right behind her.

"Arrrgh…why do they rush in without thinking!?" Yukino groaned, pulling her ostrich beanie down over her eyes.

"Not much we can do now." Tatsuya shrugged. What's done is done, after all.

"Better go after them. C'mon, let's go." Yukino sighed as she fixed her beanie. Maya and Tatsuya nodded in agreement before Maya opened the doors and all three entered into the dark room.

* * *

"Yasuo! Where are you!? Come out!" Eikichi's voice demanded as soon as they entered, loud in the surrounding darkness. Then it sounded like he crashed into something. "OW! You'll pay for that!"

"Hold on, Eikichi-kun. Don't move until I turn on my light." Maya warned, probably to prevent further injury. "Umm…huh. I was sure I had a flashlight…"

"Here, I got it." Tatsuya said before he took out his lighter and flicked it on, revealing they were standing in some kind of bunker, well, Eikichi was kneeling and clutching his head, but whatever. It was all the same.

"Grazie! Now I can see-" Maya grinned before she cut herself off and began to kneed her forehead with a sigh. "…you know, Tatsuya-kun…I think next time you have something useful like that, you should take it out a little sooner."

"Figured a bigger light would've been better if you had one." Tatsuya shrugged, not apologizing or conceding to her words.

Maya just sighed in fond exasperation, like an older sister.

That was when a staticky laugh filled the air around them.

" _Gheeeheehehehe! You fell for it!"_ Yasuo's voice laughed, coming from a walkie-talkie set up on a table.

"A walkie-talkie…? What a dirty trick!" Yukino glared at the device, as if she could light Yasuo on fire from the other end.

" _Rumor has it that no one knows where the exit to that air raid shelter is…once you're in, you'll never get out! Gheeeheehehehe!"_ Yasuo informed them, far too pleased with himself.

"You tricked us, you bastard! What the hell's your scheme!?" Eikichi shouted, furious now.

" _I'm making this school an ideal educational facility, worthy of a genius like myself. But first, the vermin must be exterminated."_ Yasuo stated and Tatsuya swore _that_ was the moment his blood began to boil, though his expression did not change.

This guy…the _Student Council president_ wanted those he considered _vermin_ to be _exterminated_?! Tatsuya may not have a _high_ opinion of students who went to Kasugayama, but getting to know Eikichi and seeing them all today…they weren't that bad, to be honest. And Tatsuya was sure as _hell_ that _none_ of them deserved to be exterminated like a parasitic bug!

"What did you just say…?" Eikichi demanded, and where Tatsuya felt like he was burning with hidden anger, Eikichi openly wore his anger…and it was as cold as ice, ready to freeze Yasuo the moment they met.

" _Sugimoto-kun was only a stalking horse. I set the stage by spreading a rumor that the Leader was stronger than the Boss."_ Yasuo continued, unaware that the two most feared students in both Kasugayama _and_ Sevens preparing to end him. _"I hadn't considered that you'd use it to your advantage. Hence, my plan to play the vermin against each other misfired."_

"Kehhei! Come out and face us!" Ginko demanded, her own anger as open as Eikichi's, but closer to the fire that was Tatsuya's.

" _I think not. Savage elements must be isolated lest they contaminate the rest of society. Gheeeheehehehe!"_ Yasuo laughed. _"But if the ladies give me a writeup of their periodical and Lisa-san becomes my g-girlfriend, I'll make an exception for the females."_

The three girls shared a look before Maya grinned and spoke up.

"Sorry! Our next special report's already been decided: "Boss vs President: The True Champion of Cuss High"!" She exclaimed brightly.

Eikichi's eyes widened and he pointed at himself, mouthing 'me?' to Tatsuya. Tatsuya only shook his head in exasperation as the former Boss than took a mirror out of his jacket and began to examine his reflection, before slipping it back where it came from.

"Plus, photographing a walkie-talkie won't be much use, even for the ad pages." Yukino smiled, following along easily as she examined her camera.

"Holeen! How sad! That means the only place I could take you on a date would be a customer service center!" Ginko grinned as she made her voice faux sympathetic and sad. It was obvious now that Yukino was struggling to muffle her laughter as Ginko exaggerated her movements by tracing a 'tear track' from her left eye and down her cheek.

" _Grrr…! Fine! Starve to death in there for all I care! Ghehee! Gheeeheehehehe!"_ Yasuo spat before the connection cut off.

As soon as it did, Eikichi grabbed the walkie-talkie and threw it to the ground, breaking it.

"Raaaaaaagh! That scumbag!" He snarled.

"Eikichi! What the hell!?" Yukino scolded, sounding like a mother in that moment, though a more vulgar one than a typical mother was expected to be.

"Yeah, what she said, you moron! Why'd you go and break our only contact with the outside!?" Ginko demanded, looking ready to punch the blue haired boy.

"Whaaa…? B-but…!" Eikichi stuttered, scrambling to defend himself, with no luck.

"Oh, well. No use crying over it now." Maya waved the situation off easily, smiling just like always. "It's at times like this that you gotta remember to think positive, guys! Together, we can find a way out!"

It…was the best they could hope for, considering they were trapped by a damn rumor. Tatsuya hoped this could all be solved with Maya's cliché anime answer, friendship conquers all, but…he doubted it. This was the real world, after all.

And the real world didn't allow for friendship to solve all your problems.

* * *

Tatsuya was, to be perfectly frank, absolutely exhausted. This bomb shelter was turning out to be a big pain in the ass and the exhaustion he felt was bone deep, deep enough that not even Trish's expensive healing (which they had no choice, but to pool their money to pay for the excessive price a few times because _of course_ this place was filled with demons) could rejuvenate him. He had no idea how long they had been in here or how many times they had gone in circles (always ending up back at the first mark Maya left as a guide, as she slowly began to smile despite her growing boiling rage), but it felt as if they've been moving around for days.

"Houshounah…I'm so tired…there's no exit to this place!" Ginko groaned as she collapsed on a crate that was pushed against the wall of the room they stopped in.

"Hey, Lisa…do you have a mirror?" Maya questioned suddenly. "Eikichi-kun mentioned a rumor that the one person who got out used a mirror, right?"

"Ng Hai, I don't have one with me now…I usually keep it in my bookbag." Ginko shook her head.

"My my, hey hey…three ladies and none of them has a mirror!?" Eikichi sighed as he took out his own mirror from his jacket pocket and examined himself in it. "Good thing I'm so beautiful…"

Tatsuya gave up then as the three girls shook their heads. He turned his back on them all and collapsed on the ground, focusing on his lighter's flame, their only source of light.

"Dude, why didn't you pull that out before if you had it!? Mooning over your own face isn't helping here!" Ginko cried.

The next thing Tatsuya heard was the sound of breaking glass.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Eikichi and Ginko screamed in unison. Tatsuya just groaned and let his head collapse against his folded arms, carefully moving the lighter to avoid burning himself.

"Ai…yah…what now!? You better take responsibility for this, jackass!" Ginko shouted.

"Me!? This is your fault! You better pay me back for it! That'll be 1,000,000 yen!" Eikichi retorted, shouting as well.

"That's enough! Thanks to you two, we just lost what might be our only hope of getting out of here!" Yukino cut in, her voice raised like a disappointed mother scolding her children.

"We're done for…" Eikichi and Ginko groaned in unison.

"Think positive, guys! This isn't over until we decide it is. Let's brainstorm! There has to be a way!" Maya encouraged them.

"Maya-san…we're all exhausted. Let's rest a while and cool down a bit. We'll take turns keeping watch." Yukino suggested, her voice placating now.

Maya sighed, but nodded in agreement.

"I'll take first watch." Tatsuya offered quietly, allowing the others to curl up and sleep.

So that was how they ended up like this.

And Tatsuya didn't mind taking the first watch, but he couldn't wait for it to be over. He wanted to sleep. To be perfectly honest, he actually wished his brother was here, giving him some of his cake to eat. No matter how much Tatsuya complained, Katsuya's cake sounded really good right about now.

"Tatsuya-kun…" Maya's voice startled Tatsuya from his thoughts. His eyes had long since adjusted to the dark and he could make out that she was tugging on her ear lobe nervously as she continued. "It's not quite my turn yet, but do you want me to take over now? I couldn't sleep for some reason…mind if I sit here?"

"Sure." Tatsuya nodded. Maya smiled and sat down next to Tatsuya, letting out a sigh from her sore legs as she did so.

They sat in silence for a while before Maya spoke, her voice soft and hesitant.

"You really think…we can get out of here…?" She asked. Tatsuya was silent when Maya's eyes widened and she turned to him. "Oh, sorry, sorry! Gotta think positive!" Maya reached into her pocket then and pulled out a worn rabbit doll. "If I start to complain, Mr. Bunbun will laugh at me. Uh oh, here he comes! Bouncy bounce bounce!" As she spoke, Maya moved the doll as if it were bouncing.

Tatsuya let a chuckle slip out, amused at the childish display from the twenty three year old. For some reason, this exchange made him feel…nostalgic.

"That's the first time I've seen you smile. You've got a great one!" Maya smiled brightly.

Tatsuya felt his face turn red as he looked away. He…always felt embarrassed when people complimented him. It made his shyness come out and he felt like he had to hide.

As if she knew this, Maya spoke again.

"This guy's my good luck charm. When times are hard, like now…I always ask him what to do." She explained. "So many terrible things have happened…rumors are becoming reality, and we're under attack from actual demons…but it hasn't been all bad. I got to meet you and your friends…"

Tatsuya bit his tongue so he didn't interrupt by correcting Maya. Ginko and Eikichi weren't his friends, he didn't have friends. Friends were…were people that knew you from the inside out and that was scary for Tatsuya. With all the scars and baggage and difficulty he came with, he didn't want to share that with anyone. He didn't want to burden anyone. So he just…never let anyone close. It was better this way.

"I'm having so much fun with you all. It's like…being a kid again…" Maya finished, unaware of Tatsuya's internal struggle. "I just can't bring myself to believe that Joker really is a bad guy. It was like he was a child crying after having a nightmare…it's like how you guys get into fights and try to act cool, but my Persona tells me you're a bunch of good kids. I sense it the same way…"

Without thinking about it, Tatsuya took out his lighter, flicked it open and closed and ran his thumb along the inscription.

"Is that your good luck charm, Tatsuya-kun?" Maya asked curiously. "What's this in English here…?"

"'What's most important can't be seen with one's eyes.'" Tatsuya read aloud. He'd long since learned how to read the words on the lighter. He'd had it for so long, it was a part of him now. It was special, his treasure…

"True indeed…sometimes, I wonder if what we think of as reality could just all be a dream. That's I'm watching a dream go by while forgetting something important to me…Joker too, maybe." Maya said.

"Maya-san…" Tatsuya whispered as he carefully pocketed his lighter. He didn't know why he spoke, but he couldn't think of anything else to say. If Maya hadn't spoken again, they would've remained in the strange limbo of not knowing what to say.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to get into such heavy stuff with you. Well, leave the lookout to me and get some rest." Maya smiled. Tatsuya nodded and pushed himself to his feet without a word. "Goodnight Tatsuya-kun…sweet dreams…"

Tatsuya nodded and then made his way to lay down.

* * *

_Tatsuya was a kid again, standing in front of a wedding dress store, staring up at the mannequins dressed in beautiful white dresses. He wondered if his mama wore a dress like that at her and Papa's wedding…_

" _Hey, Tatsuya." A boy standing beside Tatsuya said. Tatsuya's sleeping mind couldn't recognize him, but he had black hair that covered his right eye and wore suspenders over his nice white shirt. "Do you think we're alike?"_

" _Yeah. I don't mind, it's what makes us such good friends." Tatsuya smiled, innocent and full of life._

" _Yeah…I don't mind, either." The boy smiled back, bright like the sun. Tatsuya liked that smile. "Oh yeah!" Suddenly, the boy turned towards Tatsuya and held out what he thought was called a lighter. He'd seen Papa with one, but Mama took it, saying he wasn't allowed to smoke. "This is my treasure. Papa gave it to me. You can have it, Tatsuya."_

" _Huh?! No way! It's your treasure, I can't take that!" Tatsuya protested vehemently._

" _It's okay. I mean, you're practically me. And I'm you. It'll be like I still have it!" The boy smiled as he insisted._

" _Well…alright. But only if you take this!" Tatsuya insisted, digging in his pocket briefly before pulling out a silver watch._

" _Isn't this…your treasure? I thought your dad gave this to you. You can't…" The boy protested. His smile was gone and he looked unsure, like it meant more if Tatsuya gave up his treasure than if he gave up his._

" _Yes, I can! If you can give me your treasure and it'll be like you still have it, then I want to give you mine and it'll be like I still have it!" Tatsuya insisted. "It's only fair!"_

" _Okay, I understand. It'll be my treasure now!" The boy grinned again and Tatsuya felt his heart speed up. He liked seeing him smile._

" _And this will be mine." Tatsuya nodded in agreement as they exchanged treasures. It was weird, not having the watch anymore, but Tatsuya liked the lighter too. There was an engraving on it, he noticed…he wanted to know what it said, but he didn't know enough English to understand._

" _Ahahahahahaha! You're the greatest, Tatsuya!" The boy laughed joyfully. "No matter what happens, we're gonna keep our promise to each other! Forever and ever!"_

" _Yeah, just like we'll be friends forever!" Tatsuya nodded, grinning brightly. He never wanted summer to end…_

_Just then, the door to the bar behind them opened and an obviously drunk man stepped out._

" _Seeya, barkeep. I'll come again…yeah, I promise." He said before he stumbled forward a bit and spotted the two children staring at him. "Huh? You kids shouldn't be out so late. You'll never grow up to be upstanding citizens like that, you know?" The man stumbled forward some more, causing the two children to back away as he examined his reflection in the glass. "Alright! Looking good there, Kaoru, and not at all drunk. Looking like a man who's living up to his dreams." He began to walk away then, before he turned back one last time. "Hey, I'm gonna head home now…so you kids should go home too!" The children backed away as he kept walking, briefly turning back to them to say, "Or else I'll have to arrest you, haha."_

_The two children cried out and stumbled back while the drunk man just laughed and went on his way._

_Once he was gone, the boy turned back to Tatsuya._

" _Hey, Tatsuya. Did you see? Grown-ups drink to forget their dreams. I don't want to grow up to be like that…" The boy trailed off._

" _Me either." Tatsuya agreed._

* * *

The first thing Tatsuya was aware of as his dream faded away was a hand petting his hair. Then he heard a voice.

"Ho Oi Dik! Tatsuya's so cute when he's asleep!"

That was when Tatsuya was aware that his _head_ was laying _in someone's lap_ and that someone _was most likely Ginko_. Before his eyes even opened, Tatsuya sat up and looked at everyone, only to see them watching him. Feeling his face burn in embarrassment, Tatsuya shot up to his feet and turned away, playing with his lighter even as Ginko and Maya giggled at him.

"Well, looks like everyone's feeling much better. Should we start thinking seriously about how to get out of here?" Yukino suggested.

They all formed a circle as they nodded in agreement and Maya took point.

"We've all been too focused on the idea that there's no exit." She explained. "You know what they say: 'what's most important can't be seen with one's eyes'. Right, Tatsuya-kun?"

"Yeah…that's right, Maya-san." Tatsuya smiled softly as he flicked his lighter, staring at the engraving as he remembered his dream. Maya giggled as she remembered their discussion from last night, no doubt. Or…whatever time it had been.

"Hm!? What's going on with them…?" Ginko questioned suspiciously as her gaze darted from Tatsuya to Maya and back.

"Nothing to worry about, Ginko." Tatsuya smiled slightly as he nudged her arm with his elbow, no thought behind the action. Even so, Ginko still stared at him with wide eyes as he did so.

It was then that Tatsuya realized it was the first time he had initiated physical contact with her. It…wasn't so bad, being friendly with these people.

"There's probably a loophole we're overlooking. The key to cracking this rumor's logic is the mirror." Maya continued, returning the conversation to its topic. "Now let's sort through what we know one more time and think of a way out!"

The rest of the group shared a look before nodding in agreement. It was better than wandering around in the dark and fighting more.

"The rumor was that once you're in this air raid shelter, you can't get out, right? But why is that?" Maya prompted.

"Because you don't know where the exit is!" Ginko answered, her eyes widening as it seemed to click.

"Correct! The reason we can't get out is because the rumor says, 'no one knows where the exit is'." Maya confirmed. "Okay, next question. Has anyone ever escaped from this shelter?"

"There was one person." Tatsuya nodded.

"That's right! Though the rumor says, 'no one knows where the exit is', there was supposedly one person who did escape…" Maya nodded. "And how did the person in the rumor escape? They used a certain something, right? What was it?"

"That was a mirror!" Eikichi proclaimed.

"Correct! 'No one knows where the exit is', so you can't get out…but rumor has it that one person got out by using a mirror." Maya smiled. "Now here's our problem, since we don't have a mirror anymore…what do mirrors really do? They reflect things, right? What does a mirror reflect?"

"Everything in range!" Yukino snapped her fingers as she answered.

"Yes! That's it!" Maya was practically bouncing on her toes as they figured it out. "You're not the only thing that appears in a mirror. Think about when you drive a car or ride your bike! Okay, and what do you mean by 'everything in range'!? Keep going…"

"You can see things indirectly…" Tatsuya's eyes widened as he understood what Maya was getting at.

"Bingo! That's right, Tatsuya-kun! That's the importance of the mirror!" The reporter grinned. "I think whoever escaped in the rumor managed it by accident, but they did it by finding an exit reflected in the mirror!"

"I get it…if the rumor is that no one knows where the exit is, then the exit does exist!" Yukino smiled.

"Right! 'Not knowing' isn't the same thing as 'not existing'…that was just us jumping to conclusions." Maya confirmed.

"Ahaha! I had my suspicions that would be the case right from the-" Eikichi started to say.

"But with no mirror, there's no way for us to indirectly look for it! If we can't see it, we still can't get out!" Ginko cut him off, curbing the rising excitement.

"Not so! Is it time for me to bust this out?" Yukino grinned as she looked at Maya.

"Ding ding ding!" Maya grinned as the photographer dug out her camera. "If you use your digital camera, you can take pictures of the exit and look at it, right?"

"We won't know until we try, right?" Tatsuya gestured for Yukino to try it, hope curling in his chest.

Yukino nodded in agreement before she took a picture of each wall, letting out a gasp as she snapped the last one.

"Whoa! It showed up! The exit's right there!" The photographer exclaimed.

And sure enough, when Yukino lowered her camera, a pair of double doors were suddenly there and pushing open to let them out.

"Us: 1, Rumor: 0! C'mon, there's no reason to stick around anymore. Let's get out of here!" Maya grinned as she waved them through.

Without a single second of hesitation, the group ran out of the bunker and into the dimly lit basement of Kasugayama High.

Stale basement air never tasted so good, if you asked Tatsuya.

* * *

Running through Kasugayama revealed that they had been in the air raid shelter for _two days_ and it was now August 4th. In the back of his mind, Tatsuya worried about how Katsuya would react…but only in the back of it. He had more important concerns.

These concerns included the masquerade that happened at the end of the festival…which included masks that were identical to the ones in Club Zodiac. In order to get in, they each had to get one mask, which were white with a gold outline, two holes so the wearer could see and a single blue gem in the center of the forehead.

None of them put the masks on once they entered the masquerade, which was good because as soon as they entered, blue light was shooting out of the forehead gems of each mask, all heading towards the same location, the stage.

"Wow! Looks like the party's in full swing. This seems pretty upscale for a high school festival." Maya commented and Tatsuya felt a deadpan expression form on his face as he saw she was wearing her mask.

That was the moment Tatsuya saw where the light was heading-towards a boy who was no doubt Yasuo on the stage, who was holding a blue crystal skull. Acting quickly, withholding a highly exasperated sigh, Tatsuya pulled the mask off Maya's face.

"What's wrong, Tatsuya-kun? Is my mask on crooked?" The reporter questioned.

"More like wearing it's a bad idea." Tatsuya deadpanned, his eyes darting to the other students, who were starting to become Shadowmen.

"What the hell is Yasuo doing!? Isn't that the same kinda skull Joker had!?" Eikichi demanded.

"Looks like it." Tatsuya sighed.

"Huh? Th-that's enough…p-please stop…stop already!" Yasuo begged as the input on the skull increased.

But it didn't, only increasing further and threatening to overwhelm the Student Council president and turning more students into Shadowmen.

"We gotta hurry and put an end to this, or else everyone here is going to turn into Shadowmen!" Ginko cried.

Nodding in agreement, the five pushed their way through the crowd of students, Tatsuya being careful not to push anyone too hard, lest he hurt someone.

Tatsuya only paused, however, when he saw Yukino freeze in the corner of his eye. Following her gaze, he was shocked to find Anna standing on a catwalk above the gym.

"…what a fool." She sighed.

"Anna, is that you!? Hurry and get out! It's not safe here!" Yukino shouted up at the dropout.

"…I know that." Anna stated before she walked further down the catwalk and out of sight.

Feeling a bit uneasy, Tatsuya turned away and continued pushing his way to the stage, joining Eikichi, Ginko and Maya.

"Yasuo, you smug prick! What're you doing!? Quit it with the skull!" The former Boss demanded. The Student Council president didn't say a word, just stuffed the skull away in his jacket and fled. "Wait! C'mon, Tatsuya, let's go after him!"

* * *

They ended up running through the whole school, heading up the stairs, closer and closer to the roof, with all sorts of Kasugayama students exclaiming how terrified their president looked as he fled.

Once they got a bit closer, Eikichi froze with a growl.

"That bastard Yasuo's just ahead! My Persona says it's pissed off too." The blue haired boss snarled.

"Then we better get moving." Yukino nodded and the two took point, leading them up the final set of stairs to the roof.

"I hope you're ready, Yas-huh?" Eikichi cut himself off as he burst through the door only to find an empty roof, except for…

" _Gheeeheehehehe…you've come."_ Yasuo greeted them over _another_ walkie-talkie.

"You bastard…what's your game, making everyone into Shadowmen!?" Eikichi demanded, as he and the others made their way closer to the walkie-talkie while Tatsuya hung further back.

" _You needn't yell like that. I've rendered a service unto this school by reshaping it, you know."_ Yasuo said, though Tatsuya noticed his voice had an almost…echo quality.

"A service?" Eikichi spat.

Suspicious, Tatsuya turned around and made his way towards the back of the roof, only to find Yasuo standing back there, walkie-talkie to his ear.

"Prior to this, Kasugayama High was best known for its poor academic standing and lack of discipline. But now?" Yasuo smirked, his voice as slimy as it was over the walkie-talkie.

Silently, Tatsuya approached the president.

"Our school's reputation has skyrocketed! Students who were called scum are now highly sought after by the girls from other schools!" Yasuo proclaimed, his voice louder now and attracting the attention of the rest of the group. Ginko and Eikichi joined Tatsuya. "It's all thanks to me, your Student Council president, that this school has seen such a radical turnaround!"

Maya and Yukino joined them then and Eikichi approached Yasuo, punching him in the back of the head, sending the president to the ground. He stared at the five of them with wide eyes before he pushed himself up to his feet, attempting to regain some semblance of decency.

It wasn't working.

"Well done in spotting me…no wonder you escaped from that air raid shelter." Yasuo shakily praised, attempting to return the same slimy arrogance to his voice.

"How frickin' stupid are you?" Ginko sighed, sounding as exhausted as the rest of them.

"D-don't call me stupid! Your ilk can never understand my value!" Yasuo stuttered. They all just glared at him silently. "Hmph…say what you will, but if this school festival succeeds, there's no doubt that my reputation will soar even higher. Now then, I have a bit of a proposition for you, Mishina-kun." Eikichi sighed and shook his head, but Yasuo didn't wait for his answer before continuing. "I plan to proceed with my agenda of reshaping the school and, in the near future, gaining complete control of it. I'd like for you to wrest control of the inside of the school. If we joined forces, assuming full control of Kasugayama High from the inside and out, this would become a top-tier institution! Well? A perfect plan, wouldn't you agree?"

"Screw that noise! Who would want in on a plan that shady!?" Eikichi shouted, causing Yasuo to wince in obvious fear. Without waiting a second, the former Boss grabbed Yasuo by the collar and lifted him off the ground. "If you have time to waste blabbering about crap like that, hurry up and turn everyone back to normal!"

"Let him go, Eikichi." Tatsuya said, his voice soft. Eikichi complied, dropping Yasuo to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

"You truly don't understand, do you…" The president sighed. "I-it's no use threatening me. I don't have any notion how to return those people to their former selves."

"Just hand over the skull and that'll be enough. We'll figure it out ourselves." Maya reassured, her voice calm.

"N-no! I mustn't! The Lady would kill me I let it fall into the wrong hands!" Yasuo protested, pushing himself up and backing up to the chain fence surrounding the roof.

"If you won't hand it over willingly, we'll take it by force!" Eikichi snapped, spinning his machine gun into his hands.

"I detest violence…but I suppose I don't have a choice now. You'll die regretting your decision to meddle! Gheeeheeheheheheeeeeeeee!" Yasuo laughed as a resonance washed over Tatsuya. "I-I won't let anyone interfere with my dream! Ever!"

"You son of a bitch…I'll beat some sense into you!" Eikichi swore, shooting off a warning shot with his machine gun, which Yasuo quickly dodged.

"Ha! I-is that all you've got?" The student council president grinned, shaky.

"Made ya look!" Eikichi grinned, scythe like.

Yasuo's eyes widened when he noticed Tatsuya and Ginko surrounding him.

"Surya!" Tatsuya shouted, raising his left arm.

"Kinnara!" Ginko cried, raising left arm high and right arm low.

"Blazing Burst!" They shouted in unison as fire surrounded Yasuo.

The president cried out a second before Eikichi raised his machine gun and shot, landing a bullet directly in Yasuo's shoulder.

"Gah!" Yasuo cried, grasping his arm tightly as blood began to leave the wound. "P-Persona!"

Suddenly, a bird like Persona came out of the trembling Yasuo and a fierce wind swept through the entire group.

Ginko and Maya cried out in shock, while Tatsuya grunted, feeling cuts forming in his hands. Eikichi was grasping his shoulder and Yukino had ducked to avoid the wind, holding her beanie down to not lose it.

"You'll regret that!" The photographer spat as she summoned Arianrhod and casted Wind Slash, cutting through Yasuo's jacket opposite his injured shoulder.

"My turn now!" Maya winked before she summoned Tengu, casting Killer Wind and blowing Yasuo back into the gate behind him.

"Die, die, die!" Yasuo shouted as he summoned his Persona and casted Bufula on Eikichi.

The former Boss cried out as ice crystals hung from his jacket when the worst of the ice vanished.

"You better watch it!" Ginko shouted as she shot forward and landed a solid punch in Yasuo's eye, breaking his glasses.

"Noooo!" Yasuo cried as he fell to the ground. The force of Ginko's punch caused the skull to fly out of his now loose jacket pocket. Tatsuya shot forward and caught the skull, ignoring the stinging in his hands as he held it.

"I knew it…the color's different, but apart from that, this is the same skull Joker had." Ginko, calmer now, commented as she looked over the skull Tatsuya held.

"Yeah, no kidding. So question is, who gave it to you." Tatsuya mused, gazing at the defeated president.

"Hey, Yasuo!" Eikichi snapped, looming over said president.

"Y-yeah!? Stop! Forgive me, please! I'm a pacifist!" Yasuo begged.

"You're in Joker's organization, right? Why's he harvesting people's ideals?" The former Boss demanded.

"Bwaaah…? E-even I don't know that…" Yasuo admitted, confused. "But there's a rule that anyone who joins the Masked Circle must present its executives with Ideal Energy, derived from dreaming hearts."

"'Masked Circle'!?" Eikichi and Ginko cried in unison.

"'Masked Circle'…?" Tatsuya said at the same moment, quieter, but no less shocked.

"That's…from some kid's game that shows up in my dreams…" Eikichi trailed off.

Ginko's head whipped towards Eikichi as he spoke, eyes even wider, only a gasp escaping her lips. Tatsuya looked at him too, unable to speak a single word.

"And Lady Scorpio is an executive of this 'Masked Circle'?" Maya asked, calm in the face of the teenagers' shock.

"If the masquerade succeeded and I gave enough energy to the Lady, I thought I'd reach a higher position in the Masked Circle…" Yasuo admitted. "But now I'm done for!"

"Stealing dreams for personal advancement…I've got no sympathy for this asshole." Yukino shook her head.

"I didn't plan on them becoming Shadowmen! All I wanted was to dispose of my competitors for Student Council president!" Yasuo defended himself. "B-but I lost control of the crystal skull…"

"…a non-executive like you could never control the crystal skull." A familiar voice said right before a resonance washed over Tatsuya.

"That feeling again…Anna!?" Yukino cried as she whirled around. Tatsuya followed her and his eyes widened as he watched a circle of blue appear in the middle of the roof a second before a young woman wearing a black coat, a blue scarf and a Masked Circle mask with a larger blue gem than the others appeared.

"…Yukino Mayuzumi? You're still here." The woman-Lady Scorpio- _Anna_ -said.

"So it _was_ you, Anna! Why are you…" Yukino trailed off in disbelief.

Lady Scorpio remained silent this time, briefly teleporting and swinging her blue whip at Tatsuya, distracting him enough to let her grab the skull, before she teleported again, this time near Yasuo.

"This skull can only be controlled by those bearing the constellation of the holy cross." Lady Scorpio stated. "…is this all?"

"Of course. A typical person's energy level is paltry at best. That's why the Exalted One is granting people their ideals." An unfamiliar voice said.

A new resonance washed over Tatsuya and he found himself stiffening in instinctual fear.

"Huh…!?" Maya gasped, trembling in the corner of Tatsuya's eye. Suddenly, Yasuo vanished in a burst of fire, leaving behind nothing, but ashes. "Nooooooooo!" Maya screamed, falling to her knees.

Suddenly, a circle of red appeared on the top of the roof where the stairs were, revealing a man dressed identical to Lady Scorpio, but in red instead.

"Haaaaaaaahahahahaha! Burn, burn! Burn to ash!" The man shouted.

"Wh…who the hell are you!?" Eikichi stuttered as he spoke.

"I am called King Leo! I am the highest of the four executives of the Masked Circle, bearing the sign of Leo." The man, King Leo, proclaimed. "For one so lowly to confess Masked Circle business to outsiders and abandon the Shadowed Festival…you deserve death!" King Leo then teleported to stand near Lady Scorpio. "I could say the same about you, Lady. What do you have to say in your defense after the recent debacles? Not only did you let the Wild Dance slide, you abandoned the Shadowed Festival to vermin. If you wish to be present to witness the fulfillment of the Oracle of Maia, I suggest you accept the Exalted One's punishment…"

"…Yukino is mine. Leave her alone." Lady Scorpio demanded, obviously glaring at King Leo.

"…Very well. But you will deal with the consequences of the party's interruption." King Leo agreed.

"Anna! Wait!" Yukino cried out, running forward to grasp Lady Scorpio's arm and stop her from leaving. But she was too late, Lady Scorpio vanishing in another circle of blue.

King Leo shook his head before he unsheathed his katana and pointed it at Tatsuya.

"Cursed Star…I will see you and the witch sent to Purgatory, just as the lowly one was a moment ago." He stated.

"What…!?" Tatsuya and Maya cried in unison, Tatsuya lost and Maya sounding terrified.

"Hahaha…no matter how much you struggle, you can't escape the fate the Exalted One has in store for you! Hyaaaaaaahahahahahahaahaaaaaaaa!" King Leo laughed, his voice high and insane. A second later, he too vanished in a red circle.

"I'm scared…save me, Daddy…!" Maya begged, sounding far away and scared, like a child.

It took some time, but Yukino and Ginko managed to calm Maya down enough, to anchor her in the here and now, and she told them everything.

"So this King Leo guy has been stalking you for years, Maya-san!?" Eikichi cried, furious for her.

"My Persona told me so…it's him! I know it!" Maya nodded, avoiding their eyes.

"A pyromaniac…kehhei! That's the worst!" Ginko cried, just as angry as Eikichi.

Thoughtfully, Tatsuya took out his lighter and flicked it open and closed before he approached Maya.

"Maya-san, are you okay?" He asked, his voice soft.

"Don't worry…I'm okay now. We need to think about what to do next…" Maya shook her head, still avoiding all eyes.

"Remember how that King guy told Anna to 'deal with the consequences'? That's been bugging me ever since…" Yukino spoke up. "Let's go back to the gym! I have a bad feeling about this!"

* * *

Tatsuya wasn't surprised when they arrived and found the gym filled with Shadowmen.

"Dammit…we were too late!" Eikichi ground out.

"Anna!" Yukino cried, looking for the dropout to no avail. "She's not here…why would she do this!?"

"Kehhei! This is terrible! What is this Oracle of Maia, anyway, that makes the Masked Circle do such horrible things!?" Ginko demanded.

"Yasuo's dead too…does this mean we've hit a wall in our search for Joker!?" Eikichi asked.

"What can we do…?" Tatsuya sighed, feeling backed into a wall.

"Guys, wherever rumors are, Joker's there too, right? Let's go out in the city and ask people for rumors about the Masked Circle and Joker!" Maya suggested. "I'm sure we'll learn something new!"

"Yeah, first thing tomorrow!" Ginko agreed, latching on to Maya's positivity and reflecting it back to her. With a more real smile than before, Maya led the way out, though Yukino lingered in the gym.

"There must be a reason why Anna became an executive in the Masked Circle…" She mused to herself, her heart hurting. "Ms. Saeko saved me once, and now it's my turn to save that girl!"

With new resolve in her heart, the photographer followed the others out, prepared to face the next obstacle in their quest to stop Joker.

* * *

Tatsuya sighed as he opened the front door, mentally counting down. Three, two, one…

"Tatsuya, where were you?!" Katsuya burst out as he caught sight of his little brother.

"It's nothing, Brother." Tatsuya sighed, avoiding his brother's eyes as he made his way to his room.

"You vanished for two days without a word, that isn't nothing!" Katsuya scolded. "If I could, I would've put out a missing person's report and had the police looking for you!"

"Not like any of them would've done anything." Tatsuya muttered, turning his back to his brother. "Look, nothing happened, I was just with some friends. That's all."

Katsuya just sighed.

"We'll talk about this later." Was all he said. Tatsuya briefly glanced back, seeing his mother at the kitchen table, as silent as always. A perfect yamato nadeshiko, to the end.

"Whatever." Tatsuya huffed before closing the door to his room and collapsing on his bed.

He fell asleep, a dreamless sleep, without another thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we go! So, short explanation time! First up, the date: I was originally setting this chapter on August 1st, since our deadline is August 18th (the actual day the real Grand Cross occurred in 1999), but then I checked a 1999 calendar and...August 1st was a Sunday. So, the day was switched the August 2nd. And I did some research on school festivals in Japan too, cause I thought it was weird they had one in this game and turns out they're typically held in November, so...I'm assuming Yasuo utilized the rumor system to help improve Kasugayama's reputation with the festival.
> 
> Now, Tatsuya's dream. As you can see, he's written differently in the dream then he is in normal scenes, talking more and being obviously expressive. This comes from dialogue throughout the game that says Tatsuya used to be a rather talkative and outgoing kid, until the shrine incident happened that changed all these kids' lives. So, Tatsuya is written as a very outgoing child, as that was his original personality. And using 'mama' and 'papa' for his parents is to show he's a kid, of course.
> 
> And I know, the boss fight isn't the best, but it's HARD doing it for this kind of game! Keeping track of what Personas the playthrough I'm watching has, making sure the moves are logical and that it's believable is tough work! I almost miss the complicated Piggy Tron fight scene now...
> 
> Oh yeah! So I see all the time that people think Jun is a second year like Lisa and Eikichi (cause it's hard to see the number on his jacket and he IS 17 in this game like them). But in actuality, Jun is a third year, like Tatsuya. This lines up with his classroom being 3-1 (yes, he's the transfer student and the whole reason I included that scene) and he just has a late birthday in Japan's school system, being February 14th so he'd turn 6 right before Tatsuya, who's birthday is in the middle of the Japanese school year, would start his first year. It's like how some kids in US classes are born in September so they don't turn the same age as everyone else until the next school year. So yeah, Jun's older than both Lisa and Eikichi, but younger than Tatsuya.
> 
> Finally, Katsuya MAY seem a bit OOC in the last scene, considering he never really yells at Tatsuya, but! He does do so in EP when Tatsuya is driving stuff he really shouldn't, so if his brother were to vanish all of a sudden with no previous record of doing such? Yeah, any older sibling or parent would be scared and since Tatsuya's dad is still working and his mom is a quiet yamato nadeshiko, scolding falls to Katsuya instead.
> 
> Okay! I think that's everything! If I've missed anything of importance, please let me know! Up next is the Muses arc, so Lisa is gonna get the spotlight next! Dunno when I'll write it, depends on how busy I get. Bye!


	6. Song of Flames

The next morning, Tatsuya got up as early as possible and made his way out of the house. He didn't want to deal with anyone, least of all Katsuya and his father. Besides, they planned to meet early today anyway, to cover as much ground as possible.

Even still, Tatsuya wasn't in any rush. The plan was for each of them to walk around the city before meeting in Honmaru Park so they could hit up every Rumormonger they knew on the way, finish up by talking to Toku-san and then pool their information together.

So, knowing he had to listen out for any rumors along the way, Tatsuya walked slowly towards the park, until he reached the local orphanage and paused near the fence.

It wasn't a _big_ orphanage, or anything like that. But it had a lot of kids, most of whom never got adopted, which broke Tatsuya's heart more often than not, even if he couldn't do anything about it. But he did what he could, stopping by on the weekend occasionally to play with the children, they liked his impressions.

However, because it was so early in the morning, there were no children in the backyard, leaving it vacant. It was that moment, however, that Tatsuya caught sight of something in the corner of his eye.

It was a couple, leaving the orphanage with no child, meaning they had either not found one to adopt, were in the process of adopting, or…Tatsuya didn't want to think it was that last one.

They looked young though, not much older than Tatsuya really. The woman had curly red hair that almost looked brown in the rising sunlight and her eyes were an obsidian black as she and the man walked past Tatsuya. The man, on the other hand, had straight black hair and his eyes were red like blood. They could both be considered beautiful, in Tatsuya's opinion, but…there was an air about them that he didn't like.

But he couldn't think about that right now and he really couldn't be _here_ now when he was expected by the others any minute now. Besides, the only rumors he heard about (outside of the fact that Sevens had been closed for some idol concert…what the hell…) were about Ginji Sasaki and some stuttering answers to him asking about the Masked Circle.

Not a lot at all, really.

"Tatsuya!"

Without a word, Tatsuya turned only to see Ginko running towards him, in her school uniform just like him and waving brightly.

"Can I walk with you?" Ginko asked, her voice hopeful.

And Tatsuya…couldn't say no. But talking was still…awkward. So…

He let out a small, motorcycle engine sound as a chime of agreement.

Ginko stared at him for five seconds before she started laughing.

"Aww, that's so cute, Tatsuya! Does that mean you're too shy to speak right now?" Ginko teased him.

"That's not it…" Tatsuya muttered, avoiding her eyes as she continued to giggle, way too awake considering it was around five thirty in the morning…

"Sure, sure!" The blonde girl playfully agreed before she grasped his arm and began to pull him towards Honmaru Park. "C'mon, I bet the others are on their way too, even Eikichi."

"He'd sooner be late with all that makeup." Tatsuya mumbled, not sure if his joke would be well received or not. Ginko simply laughed again.

"That's true! He'd take long than me, Maya-san and Yukino-san combined!" She said. And she hadn't made any flirtatious comment the whole time they walked.

It was…nice, almost like being friends…

* * *

Once they reached the outskirts of the park, they found Yukino and Maya, who looked as if she was still asleep, waiting and Eikichi running up just as they reached the two women.

They agreed to talk to Toku-san before sharing what they had gather, but…

"Oh! There she is! Can I have your autograph!?" A girl cried as soon as they entered the park, startling Maya awake as four second year Sevens students, two boys and two girls, swarmed around Ginko and Eikichi, pushing the reporter in the process. "Pleeeeeeeeease! We really want your autograph!" The same girl begged.

"Yeah! We've been looking all over for you!" One of the boys added in agreement.

"At five in the morning…" Tatsuya deadpanned. _Unreal…_ he thought to himself.

"Riiiiiiiiight…" Yukino drawled sarcastically, seemingly in agreement.

Eikichi stepped in front of Ginko then, posing with a stage ready smile.

"Ooooh, an autograph, is it? Sure thing! Line up now! No pushing or shoving!" The blue haired boy instructed.

"Who're you?" The other girl asked, an almost valley girl tang to her Japanese.

Next thing any of them knew, the girl had pushed Eikichi hard enough to send him spinning to the grass as the four students swarmed Ginko. Thankfully, Maya checked over Eikichi (while shaking her head in exasperation) with Yukino going over to help her (with an equally exasperated look on her face) so Tatsuya could watch over Ginko as a precaution (he wasn't letting her get mobbed by weirdo second years, thank you very much).

"C'mon, Lisa! Just one little autograph!?" The first girl begged once more.

"Huh!? Me!? Why me!?" Ginko, just as lost as the rest of them, asked, her eyes wide and her mouth dropped open into a perfect o.

"C'mon, don't play dumb. It was so obvious by that poster!" The girl with the valley tang to her Japanese drawled.

"Congrats on your public debut! So when's the big announcement? There's no sense keeping it a secret between you three anymore…" One of the boys said.

Ginko backed away from the second years the, obviously overwhelmed. Tatsuya stayed by her side to keep an eye on her.

"Debut? Poster? Wait a second, what the hell are you talking about?" Ginko questioned, completely blunt.

The four second years suddenly formed a huddle and began to whisper amongst themselves, like they do in American comedy shows Tatsuya had seen occasionally (his mother enjoyed them, for some reason…). They broke the circle apart after a minute and the boy spoke again.

"Aww, okay…so you still gotta keep it a secret." He sighed, sounding crest fallen. Tatsuya was becoming _very_ concerned about what the hell this guy was so interested in Ginko for.

Was…this how Katsuya felt about him sometimes…? Nah, that's crazy.

"We shouldn't push it. Let's hold off on getting an autograph until later." The first girl said, her Japanese crisp and clean.

"We'll totally be rooting for you though! I hope your group can help restore Sevens' reputation!" The girl with the valley tang grinned, flashing a peace sign in Ginko's face.

"Yeah, good luck! See you!" The other boy, who had been silent up until now, grinned as he patted Ginko on the shoulder in encouragement (for what, Tatsuya still had no idea) before all four students left, leaving a sputtering, confused Ginko and a half conscious Eikichi behind.

"We should probably head to the detective agency, let him recover a bit. That was a damn hard hit he took." Yukino sighed, shaking her head as she stared down at Eikichi.

"Tatsuya-kun? Do you mind?" Maya asked with a hopeful smile.

Tatsuya shook his head before he picked Eikichi up, handing his guitar cased machine gun to Yukino to carry, and began to lead them out of the park. Yukino followed shortly after while Maya talked to Toku-san and then led the dazed Ginko after them.

In short, Tatsuya's day started early and started _weird_. But what else was new?

* * *

Thankfully, Eikichi was conscious again by the time they were halfway to the detective agency, but…nobody they had asked had any idea of the Masked Circle (including all rumormongers, who they had each made sure to check in with), so their last hope was the Kuzunoha Detective Agency.

Unfortunately, they were greeted by screaming as soon as they walked in.

"What's this poster!? Ugh, you stole it from another station, didn't you!? Go put this in the back right now!" Tamaki screamed and Tatsuya confirmed a second later that it was at Tadashi.

"Whaaaaaaaaat!? Nooooo…I just found it! If you leave them there, they'll get snatched up by someone else just like that!" Tadashi whined, clinging to Tamaki's waist in an attempt to convince her to give mercy to his poster.

Ignoring them, Tatsuya and Maya approached Chief Todoroki and told him everything that had been going on. Once they finished, he nodded thoughtfully.

"I get the gist of your story. But I'm sorry, I've never heard of this Masked Circle." The detective admitted.

"Tamaki-san doesn't know either." Maya shook her head with a sigh (how she got that out of the woman _still_ screaming at her fiancé, Tatsuya did not know).

"Huh!? These two in the photo here are your classmates!?" Tadashi screamed then, cutting off Tamaki's scolding as he stared at Ginko with wide eyes.

"Y-yeah…I guess…that's Sheba and Mee-ho, alright…" Ginko awkwardly confirmed as she looked at the Muses poster Tadashi had… _acquired_. Sure enough, Tatsuya recognized the two second year girls on it.

Tadashi pushed his way between Ginko and the poster, looking from one to the other repeatedly…before he started to laugh.

"Oho! I see. I get it. Mystery solved! See that girl's silhouette in the center? The last member, a closely guarded secret until now…" The not-so-great detective smirked before he whirled on Ginko and pointed directly in her face. "It was you this whole time!"

Eikichi practically bent over, he was laughing so hard.

"Ginko? An idol? Dude, you can come up with better material than that." He managed to say as he calmed down, wiping tears from his eyes so as to not smear his makeup.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean!?" Ginko demanded, glaring at Eikichi.

"No, there's no mistake! Rumor has it the third member is a blonde girl with an amazing body. You fit the bill, alright!" Tadashi cut in, grinning brightly.

"H-hold on here…" Ginko stuttered, backing away. But Tadashi was not deterred, stepping closer while Eikichi fled so the blonde girl didn't back into him.

"Gimme! Gimme an autograph! Please! You're gonna go to Mu now, huh? I heard they're holding a video shoot there." The not-so-great detective pleaded. "Are you going to meet up with the other two at Mu? Why'd you keep it a secret? C'mon, gimme an autograph! Autograph! Autograph! Autograph! Autograph! Autograph! Autograph!" As he began to chant, Tamaki marched over to him/

"That's enough, you goddamned nitwit!" The brunette cried before she chased her fiancé out of the main room. The sounds of someone getting beat up began to fill the air…

Tatsuya wondered just _how_ they had gotten engaged, let alone started dating, but figured it was best not to ask.

Yukino, who knew them in high school, seemed to agree as she shook her head and approached the poster.

"Now I see…those Sevens kids saw this poster and thought Lisa was making her debut…" The photographer mused.

"Heheh…an idol, eh?" Ginko smiled, seemingly liking the idea now.

"Lisa, this is no joke! Did you forget that rumors are coming true? You could actually end up debuting for real!" Maya scolded, her worry all too real.

"Not to mention this could tie back to the Masked Circle somehow." Tatsuya mused. He didn't trust this, at all.

"Something's odd about this poster. It's like they put these up specifically to make people speculate that Lisa's the third member…" Maya added, her voice thoughtful.

"Another rumor…you think it's the Masked Circle, like Tatsuya said?" Yukino asked, turning to her partner.

"I don't know why they'd do it, though…guess we should look into this." Maya said, frustration at her confusion bleeding into her voice.

They all nodded in agreement and were about to leave when Yukino paused before turning to the sounds of someone _still_ being beaten up. The sounds had not stopped their whole conversation, by the way.

"Oh, Tamaki…I think he's learned his lesson by now…" Yukino called out.

Tamaki seemed to agree at that and came out, looking no worse for wear. Tadashi, however, sported some light bruising and looked punch drunk in love.

Tatsuya didn't understand love, honestly, and so was extremely happy to leave the detective agency behind for Mu's, where apparently Muses was filming a music video…which he had turned into a casino through rumors at Maya's insistence…

He was pretty sure she had a gambling problem, but wouldn't admit to it.

* * *

When they reached Mu, Tatsuya felt his hackles raise. There was a crowd there, all pushing to get to one specific area, where he assumed Muses was supposed to be preparing. Still, he didn't like being around so many people…

"Wow! Look at this crowd…I'd say Muses' reputation precedes them." Maya gasped as her own eyes landed on the crowd of people.

"Looks like they're arguing over something." Yukino noted and sure enough, if Tatsuya listened, he could hear all sorts of shouting.

"Let me be an extra in the vid! Look, I'm a great dancer!"

"I'm way better than that lameass! I sing at the train station every night, so I know I can perform in front of a crowd!"

Other people were yelling too, so loud that Tatsuya couldn't even _hear_ what the man they were all yelling at, probably the assistant director, was saying.

"Wait! They'll do!" The assistant director suddenly shouted, causing Tatsuya to flinch slightly before he suppressed the movement. After that, the assistant director suddenly went into the crowd and pushed person after person aside before he stopped right in front of Tatsuya. "H-hey, you guys! We're filming a music video for Muses right now! Wanna be extras in it?"

Before Tatsuya could say a word, Eikichi jumped forward, threw an arm around Tatsuya's shoulders which knocked him off balance and pumped his fist in the air.

"Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! Finally, my chance to really rock this casbah! Everyone, follow me!" The blue haired boy grinned brightly. When he looked so excited like that…Tatsuya couldn't say no, for some reason. He looked like a kid on Christmas morning, his eyes shining with so much joy and excitement.

Of course, before Tatsuya could say a word, Eikichi used Tatsuya as a springboard to push himself through the crowd and head towards the back of Mu.

"That idiot!" Ginko growled, though she'd been doing that the whole trip there. For some reason, after they had learned about Muses and left the detective agency, a dark cloud had hung over Ginko and led to her even insulting Sheba and Mee-ho, saying they weren't her friends. Tatsuya was…worried, he supposed, but it wasn't his place to say anything.

Maya, however, just laughed.

"Well, this does save us the trouble of sneaking in. C'mon, guys! Next stop, Muses!" She grinned before grasping both Tatsuya and Ginko's wrists and pulling them after Eikichi. Tatsuya could hear Yukino sigh before following after them.

* * *

Of course, it wasn't gonna be _that_ easy. Because even Mu was full of demons, so they managed to get a good workout in as they traversed up to the fourth floor (they had found Eikichi easily this time, thankfully. And somehow, they managed to come out looking none the worst for wear, thanks to Ginko's healing magic).

As soon as they reached the room where Muses' video was being shot, the director ran up to them and directed them to three different areas: Ginko and Tatsuya to one game, Maya and Eikichi to another and Yukino to one more. Once they were all set up, the director got to work.

Tatsuya couldn't help, but notice, however, that Ginko made sure to use him as a shield, hiding herself from Sheba and Mee-ho's eyes.

"Alright, this take's for real! And…action!" The director cried.

After that, Tatsuya got lost in the, admittedly, monotonous act of pretending to play a video game while the music for the video played.

* * *

Once the filming was over, however, Sheba and Mee-ho spotted Ginko without too much trouble.

"Where've you been all this time, Lisa? We've been looking all over for you!" Mee-ho cried.

"So it was true that you made your debut. Then the rumored third member is…" Ginko trailed off.

Sheba and Mee-ho shared a look before giggling.

"Lisa, you remember that Print Club photo we took here? We posted it on the board with wish for us three to become idols someday." Sheba smiled. "And the wish came true! That producer Sasaki saw the photo and recruited us!"

Ginko flinched back at the words, while behind her back Eikichi, Yukino and Maya shared a look. Tatsuya's own brow was furrowed as he took out his lighter and flicked it.

"That…doesn't seem right…" He muttered to himself.

"No kidding! How did he even know they could sing? And why'd he recruit _them_ when he could've had me!" Eikichi, apparently overhearing Tatsuya, whispered.

Tatsuya couldn't help the small smirk of amusement that formed on his face as he shared a look with Eikichi, who grinned back though his eyes mirrored Tatsuya's worry.

"W-wait a sec! Sure, I remember posting that picture, but actually being an idol is…" Ginko trailed off, her voice high and panicked.

"Oh, and wait until you hear our debut song! There's a solo part in English for you, since you're bilingual!" Mee-ho cut in, a bright smile on her face, excited for her friend.

But those words caused Ginko to flinch as if in retaliation before she avoided both Sheba and Mee-ho's eyes, causing the two to share a concerned look.

"Lisa? What's wrong?" Sheba asked, stepping closer to Ginko and reaching out as if to touch her shoulder. But Ginko pushed her hand away and backed up closer to Tatsuya and Maya, lifting her head to glare at her friends.

"This has gone far enough! I don't want to be an idol!" She spat, her words harsh. "You only want me to join because you know you two alone won't get enough press! Don't act like my friends when you're just using me!"

"Wha…? That's horrible, Lisa…do you not like us anymore?" Mee-ho asked, her voice thick with sadness and the possibility of tears.

Tatsuya didn't think she was lying, she sound genuine in his opinion.

But Ginko only turned away, refusing to look at either of her fellow second years.

"…I'm sorry we went ahead with it without you. We have a live radio performance at Giga Macho now." Sheba added, her voice apologetic and soft. "If you change your mind, could you meet us there? Come on, Mee-ho…"

With that, Sheba squeezed the obviously struggling not to cry Mee-ho's shoulder and led her out of the room without another word.

The silence they left behind was almost oppressing…until Eikichi broke it.

"I don't think you needed to be so harsh on them. Are you sure you want to just let them go?" He asked, no trace of arrogance or needling in his voice. He was being serious.

But that didn't matter as Ginko whirled around to glare at him, her eyes fiery and angry.

"Shut up! They'll do what they feel like. Just leave them be!" She snapped.

"I don't think we can, Ginko." Tatsuya admitted, running his thumb over the Zippo lighter's engraving.

"What was that?!" Ginko snarled at him, betrayal in her eyes. But Tatsuya didn't back down, meeting her gaze head on with his own steady one. He opened his mouth to explain himself when Maya's red painted nails briefly brushed against his arm, stopping his voice.

"Cool down for a second, Lisa! You know…if they got a debut off just a Print Club photo, the Masked Circle might be involved." The reporter said aloud, her voice calming.

"We might be able to get some more details from those two. Let's head for Giga Macho." Yukino agreed, her own voice taking on a motherly tone.

The two combined seemed to ease Ginko's anger, if only a little.

* * *

Unfortunately, the entire walk to Giga Macho, and considering it _was_ only just reaching seven in the morning, Ginko was pissed, claiming Sheba and Mee-ho weren't her friends and cursing them and the whole idol situation. And nobody in their group could figure out _why_ she was so pissed, Tatsuya even felt sympathy for Sheba and Mee-ho, he didn't think they had any malicious intent in what they did…

But it wasn't long before they reached Giga Macho and made their way to the live recording studio (and of course fought off all sorts of demons on their way there. Joker was _not_ kidding when he said he'd be sending demons to kill them…) where they found Sheba and Mee-ho in the booth, along with Meteor Masa (a popular DJ in Sumaru City) and who Tatsuya assumed was Ginji Sasaki.

"…and that's that! We're waiting for more letters from _you_ , the listeners!" Meteor Masa announced before he turned to Ginji. "By the way, Ginji-san, you said you had an important announcement to make during our show today. You don't mean…?"

"Ahahah…you've got me there. Yeah, I'd say it's about time. Looks like our last guest has just arrived." Ginji laughed, perfectly amicable and charming. Tatsuya could see why people flocked to him… "It's time I gave the people what they want and announced the third member of Muses! Lisa Silverman! There you are!" As he spoke, the music producer pointed straight at Ginko, somehow able to spot her even through the crowd gathered around the booth.

Ginko startled, having not expected to be spotted.

"Oh, geez! What should I do, Tatsuya!? Kaumena! Help me!" Ginko begged as the crowd began to push towards them, trying to push Ginko towards the booth. Her blue eyes were wide with panic and fear.

"I…" Tatsuya stuttered, his eyes darting from Ginko to the crowd around them, noticeable to only those in his group.

"I don't think you have a choice! Time to bite the bullet and go do this! Try and pry out as much information as you can!" Maya whispered right before the crowd began to grow impatient.

"You can do this, Ginko…we trust you." Tatsuya whispered, causing Ginko's eyes to widen in starstruck awe before she was swallowed by the crowd and pushed toward the booth.

Tatsuya took his eyes off her for a minute, pushing his way through the crowd so he could have a clear view of the booth, Eikichi, Maya and Yukino right beside him.

"For everyone tuning in now, Muses is now a full trio!" Sheba and Mee-ho announced in unison as Tatsuya finally found a spot with a clear view.

"Whoa! Now that's what I call shock radio! Way to go, Ginji, you stylish bastard!" Meteor Masa grinned.

As the DJ spoke, Maya leaned in and whispered in Tatsuya's ear.

"Hey, Tatsuya-kun. Do you detect a faint Persona resonance in that Sasaki guy?" She asked, her voice soft as her breath brushed his ear.

"Yeah…I do. You don't think…" Tatsuya trailed off, his own voice as soft as Maya's, and fear gripping his heart at the thoughts racing through his mind.

"I wonder if he's one of the Masked Circle…if he is, Lisa's in trouble." Maya had no problem saying Tatsuya's thoughts aloud, it seemed. "But if we go along with the plan, we might get some juicy details on the Masked Circle. Well, it's all up to Lisa now."

"I'll do everything I can to make sure she's safe." Tatsuya promised, a strangely familiar protective instinct rising within him. He…couldn't remember feeling this way before, but he knew it wasn't a new feeling.

Maya smiled at him, like a proud big sister, and warmth filled Tatsuya's being at the sight.

Meteor Masa's voice, however, cut off all thoughts of warmth in Tatsuya's mind.

"Well then, let's move on to the burning question on all our male listeners' minds: Lisa-chan, are you single!?" The DJ asked, his voice loud and enthusiastic, even through the glass of the booth.

"Ng Hai! There is a certain gentleman! Actually, he's here today!" Ginko grinned, looking much happier than she had outside the booth.

"Whoa! Lisa-chan drops a second bombshell on our audience! Who, may we ask, is this boyfriend of yours!?" Meteor Masa cried.

"He's over there! The tall, cool guy! Eeeeeee, I said it!" Ginko squealed, covering her red cheeks in embarrassment.

Tatsuya turned away, hiding his face. _No, please…_

However, Eikichi spoke up instead.

"…me?" He sounded as if he was pointing to himself before his voice became smooth. "Awww, you should've said so before…baby be mine! I'm gonna give you a whole lotta love!"

Tatsuya snorted under his breath even as he refused to turn. Trust Eikichi to turn a situation Tatsuya found embarrassing into a humorous, less stressful one.

"Why…on Earth would I have meant you!?" Ginko demanded before she and Eikichi started going back and forth, just like always. Tatsuya had to actually raise his hand to cover his mouth in order to prevent the laugh that wanted to leave his throat from escaping.

He really…really liked being around all of them…

"Whoa, whoa! Calm down, okay, Lisa-chan? We're live, after all…" Meteor Masa cut in awkwardly.

"My Chinyan isn't a twisted narcissist like him!" Ginko protested.

"Uhhh, okay! Well then, Ginji-san? Lay it on us about the Muses' debut song we're all dying to hear!" The DJ changed the topic before things could spiral out of control even further.

Feeling it was safe, Tatsuya turned back towards the booth, finding both Maya and Yukino smiling at him knowingly, while Eikichi briefly turned towards him to wink before turning back towards the booth.

"It's based on the 'Joker Game' that's catching on with the kids today. It's called, naturally, 'Joker'!" Ginji announced and Tatsuya could only watch as Ginko stiffened until she resembled a board in the booth.

"I knew it!" Maya whispered as Eikichi and Yukino turned towards each other and then Tatsuya and Maya.

Tatsuya kept his eyes on Ginko and Ginji, making sure nothing would happen to her.

"And since Lisa-kun's so fluent in English, I've prepared an entire English solo part for her." The music producer added.

"I see…! Alright then, Lisa-chan. Got a message in English for all your adoring fans out there today?" Meteor Masa grinned. Frantically, Ginko turned to the DJ and shook her head almost violently. "…well, I had high hopes, but that's all the time we have today! We'll be looking forward to your part, Lisa-chan!"

" _O…oh-kay! Y-yeees_!" Ginko stuttered, her English sounding awkward and unsure.

"Muses, ladies and gentlemen, kicking off their career with a mini-concert today at the outdoor concert hall in Aoba!" Meteor Masa announced. "And that's a wrap for today's edition of Meteor Masa to the Max! Tune in next week for more of what you loooooooove!"

With that, the show cut out and Sheba, Mee-ho and Ginji all stood up, forcing Ginko to follow them as they left out the back door.

Tatsuya's heart pounded in worry now that Ginko was out of sight, but there was nothing he could do now…

"Sounds like Sasaki and the Muses are headed to the outdoor concert hall in Aoba. Let's meet them there, Tatsuya-kun!" Maya's voice cut through the haze of fear and worry surrounding Tatsuya and he smiled slightly at her in gratitude, even as the worry still made his heart pound.

"Yeah…let's go." He nodded in agreement.

* * *

As they entered Aoba Park, an unfamiliar voice called out to Yukino. Tatsuya noted, however, that her face turned bright red as she turned towards the source of the noise, a man carrying a camera bag on his shoulder.

"Yukino! I didn't know you would be here." The man smiled lazily as he stopped near them.

"Y-yeah, Maya-san was…j-just curious." Yukino stuttered and Tatsuya _did not recognize her at all_. She turned to the rest of them then. "O-oh yeah…l-lemme introduce you guys…th…this is my boss, Fujii-san. He's a freetographer…I-I mean…"

"She means he's Fujii-san, a freelance photographer and Yukki is his apprentice!" Maya grinned as she corrected her partner, then leaned in to whisper to the two teenage boys conspiratorially. "He's been mentoring Yukki for a while now. Huh…maybe that's why she always acts so funny around him."

"I don't think that's it, Maya-san…" Tatsuya shook his head in amusement.

"H-hey, Yukino-san…what's up? Your whole face is beet red." Eikichi commented as he pulled out of Maya's impromptu huddle and turned to the apprentice photographer.

"Huh? My face is red? Sh-shut up…! It isn't really…uh…is it…? Haha…hahahahahaha…" Yukino awkwardly laughed as she avoided all eyes.

After that, Maya led the rest of the introductions. Fujii seemed particularly interested in Tatsuya possibly modeling for him, to Tatsuya's embarrassment and Eikichi's joking jealously.

"Fujii-san, what are you doing here?" Maya asked, curious.

"The boss asked me to get some pictures of Muses backstage." Fujii explained, lifting his bag slightly to show this.

"In that case…could we ask you a favor then?" Tatsuya asked, hesitant. Maya's eyes met his and she snapped her fingers when she figured out what he was getting at.

"Sure, why not?" Fujii smiled good-naturedly.

"Tatsuya…you aren't planning to sneak back in the girls' dressing room!" Eikichi faux gasped, causing Tatsuya to glare at him, feeling his cheeks tint red at the accusation, no matter how joking.

"Actually, Fujii-san, we have a friend in Muses. Her name's Lisa. Would you mind checking on her for us? Let her know we're coming to see her big debut?" Maya smiled, taking over easily. After all, there was no way all four of them could join him backstage, but if he could at least check on Ginko while they figured out their own plan…that was good enough.

"Sure thing. Well, I need to get going now. Take care, Yukino, Maya. It was nice meeting you, Suou and Mishina." Fujii smiled, briefly patting Yukino on the shoulder as he headed towards the outdoor concert hall.

"Y-yeah…you t-too." Yukino stuttered, even though Fujii was already too far to hear. Once her blush cleared away, she glared at both Tatsuya and Eikichi with fire in her eyes, clearly screaming at them to keep their mouths shut if they wanted to live.

Gulping in fear, both teenage boys nodded and remained silent as they continued on their way.

* * *

Once they got further in the park, they completely bypassed the line to buy the (sold out) tickets and instead made their way to the back.

"This looks like the back door. So, how do we get in?" Maya whispered as they stopped near the assumed door. "Even if we lie and say we're here for an interview, they'll find out once they realize we don't have an appointment…"

"Hey, gang! There's some guys who look like part-time staff over there. They're slacking on the job, it seems." Eikichi pointed out and, sure enough, there were three part-timers just hanging out by the door.

"Yeah, looks that way. But if they're part-timers, they might have employee badges." Yukino mused. "Why don't we offer to buy 'em? Just say that we couldn't get concert tix. Even if they try to gouge us a little, easier to grease some palms than start a commotion."

"Yeah, you're right. Okay, let's try Yukki's plan! Tatsuya-kun, will you do the honors?" Maya smiled. Tatsuya sent her the evil eye, he knew _exactly_ what she was doing, trying to get him to talk to people he didn't know more, or just people in general.

But he'd be an ass if he made a fuss over it, so…

"Alright." Tatsuya agreed and he took a deep breath before he stepped out of their little hiding spot, coming into view of the three concert staff.

"Hey, only staffers are allowed through here." One of the three workers called out to Tatsuya. "I know it's annoying, but we have to do our job too."

"Well…what if I told you me and my friends are willing to take over your shifts? We couldn't get tickets for the concert, so…" Tatsuya trailed off, hoping they'd catch on.

"Huh…? Hrgh, this is weird timing…" The first worker groaned as he ran a hand through his hair, obviously confused. The other workers, however, were staring at their friend with wide, hopeful eyes. "We'd be in major trouble if they found out, but…I really don't want to be here…" The other two workers ran up then and whispered to their friend before all three nodded in agreement. "T-tell you what, we'll sell you our employee badges for 10,000 yen total. Considering the risk to us, it's not much to ask, right?"

And that was the moment Tatsuya became grateful for the money the demons randomly dropped or gave to them if they negotiated properly.

"Alright then. Here." He nodded, digging the necessary amount out of his wallet (they had split the money up between the five of them so nobody held all of it at the same time).

"A-alright, it's a deal. Here y'go, our employee badges. Make sure you do your jobs! We're counting on you!" The part-timer nervously agreed as the three passed over their badges. Then they fled, like the devil himself was licking their heels, eager to have the day off, but terrified of any repercussions.

* * *

As the four made their way through the backstage area, Tatsuya noted that the other part-timers referred to Ginji as 'King Shit', revealing he's actually a narcissistic jerk (worse than Eikichi), a pervert _and_ a pedo, which had both Tatsuya _and_ Eikichi worried for Ginko, even though they both knew she could kick his ass…and probably murder him too.

But they couldn't find Ginko…until they were hanging out backstage, trying to figure out what to do when Eikichi stopped near a door.

"Hey, guys! That's Ginko's voice!" He pointed out. Right away, the other three gathered near the door. Eikichi bent down and pressed his ear to the door, Maya stood behind him and raised a hand to hear ear to listen, Yukino stood in front of him and turned to listen and Tatsuya stood at Eikichi's side, listening carefully.

It was a tight fit, and probably a little comedic looking from a distance, but it was them. And it worked.

"Wait, you're kidding, right? Lisa…?" Sheba asked, her voice filled with disbelief.

"Don't make me say it over and over! It's complete BS that I'm any good at English. I can barely speak a word of it!" Ginko spat. "Do all blonde haired people automatically speak English!? Is it weird for a blue eyed girl to know Japanese? Am I some freak!?"

"Y-you're not weird at all…you're cool because you stand out, Lisa." Mee-ho insisted.

"Oh, so I was bullied for it as a kid, but now it's 'cool'? It's 'unique'? I'm tired of other people deciding how to define me!" Ginko snapped.

And Tatsuya…his heart _ached_ for Ginko, because this, _this_ , he understood. After what happened ten years ago, Tatsuya had been bullied for suddenly being quiet, for picking fights when his father was brought up, for wanting to be alone instead of play with the other kids ( _it wasn't the same, it would never be the same…_ ). But now, Tatsuya was seen as _cool_ for being quiet, for fighting others and for being alone. It made him stand out, made him _special_ , but all he had wanted was to be left alone, to be seen as normal and not special or cool.

"My dad never taught me a word of English…but everyone assumes all foreigners can speak it…they have to stand out…" Ginko continued, her voice sad and wistful. "What am I supposed to do? I'm…I'm just like anyone else…just a normal girl…"

"I'm so, so sorry, Lisa…I never noticed we were hurting you like that…" Sheba apologized, her voice thick with remorse. "But if that's how it is, then we really can't abandon you now. Come with us, okay?"

"Sheba's right! You just need to get Master Joker to fix you up so you can speak English like a pro!" Mee-ho agreed enthusiastically.

"I knew it! You two _are_ in the Masked Circle!" Ginko cried, new anger bleeding into her voice.

"Lisa-kun…what's your dream? Why didn't you tell it to Master Joker?" Ginji's voice said then, cutting off anything else Ginko could have said and freezing the four listening in from bursting through the door right then and there.

"W-well…it was so sudden…" Ginko stuttered, the anger leaving her voice again.

"No. You had no dream to tell him. It must have been painful for you, being with Suou-kun and the others." Ginji contradicted. "The reporter, the photographer…even that gang boss is pursuing a dream. Yet you have none to call your own. It mortifies you…that's why you keep squabbling with the gang boss, why you continue to cling to Suou-kun. No?"

"I-I had a dream! But…I lost it, so…" Ginko's voice softened and trailed off.

"I know your pain all too well. Those who've been defeated by their dreams are pitiful…but you can always pursue another dream." Ginji's voice was reassuring and gentle. Tatsuya did not like it. "Now, call Master Joker. Be reborn as your ideal self. You can be a guide for the youth who have no dreams. The youth who see themselves in your song will summon Master Joker and realize their dreams, just as the Exalted One wishes."

"That's…that's a lie. What about the Shadowmen, huh!? Why is he stealing everyone's dreaming hearts?" Ginko demanded.

"You know the pain of living without dreams…they have been released from that pain. Isn't that another form of happiness?" Ginji proposed. "But whenever possible, those without dreams will be granted new ones…that is what the Exalted One thinks. For that, we need you. Join the Masked Circle. With us is where you will friends who truly worry for you…where you will know belonging at last."

The voices faded away after that.

"I didn't know Ginko was that stressed out…" Eikichi admitted, looking down at the floor he was kneeling on.

"I can kind of relate…getting pushed around and ignored just cause you're different…" Yukino said, a faraway look entering her eyes.

"I know how you feel." Tatsuya stated, rubbing his thumb against his lighter. "People see what they want to, as a kid it gets you bullied, as a teen it gets you praised."

"I need to think about this…" Ginko's voice cut through all conversation, drawing their attention once more.

Eikichi quickly pushed himself to his feet, turning his back to the door and causing Yukino to back away.

"Hey, Tatsuya! Ginko went with them! They're gonna trick her into betraying us at this rate!" He insisted, worry for Ginko covering his words.

"I'm worried too, but…I think Ginko is smarter and braver than we feel right now, I want to trust in her. Like I did for you." Tatsuya said, feeling his lighter in his pocket.

"Have some faith in Lisa…dreams aren't a crutch you can lean on or a gift you can be given. I'm sure she'll figure that out." Maya nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, the other door opened and the shift boss (who they had run into previously) ran in.

"Hey, you four! What're you part-timers lounging around for!?" He cried. "Get out there and guard the stage! And you girls, go collect tickets! What, am I not making myself clear? Get going!"

Without another look, the four made their way out to do as they asked, trusting in Ginko.

* * *

When Tatsuya and Eikichi reached the stage they were supposed to guard, Eikichi sighed.

"I get what Maya-san's saying, but I still think we should go rescue Ginko!" He said at Tatsuya's curious look. "I-I'm not worried about her, but…if she leaves now, we're down a man. It'll be too late if the crowd starts filing in!"

"No, let's wait and see what happens." Tatsuya shook his head in disagreement.

"WHAT!? Dude…you disappoint me! Think about Ginko's feelings for once!" Eikichi cried, glaring at him in anger.

"But I am." Tatsuya protested, his voice still steady, only rising a little in volume to get Eikichi to _listen_. "And I think Ginko would want me to trust her to do the right thing when I'm not there to encourage her to do so." Eikichi stared at him for a moment, speechless.

" _We will now be opening the doors. Please form two lines and enter in an orderly fashion."_ An announcer suddenly proclaimed.

"Tch! Too late now! If anything happens to Ginko, Tatsuya, your ass is mine!" Eikichi promised.

"Believe me, if I'm wrong, I wouldn't stop you." Tatsuya stated, entirely serious. The blue haired boy stared at him for a moment before nodding in understanding.

It wasn't long after that people started pouring in and both boys became busy with trying to keep the people back from rushing the stage. Behind him, Tatsuya could hear Ginko and the rest of Muses singing _Joker_.

"(Dial J Dial J) _heart is dark  
_(Dial J Dial J) _can't see tomorrow  
_(Dial J Dial J) _can't dream_

_You leave me behind, the flow of time  
I know firsthand and I stand in the twilight _

_"There is nothing that doesn't change"  
Your words are regretful _

_Dialing is the one thin bond [between us]  
It's fragile like glasswork _

_"Where are you now?"  
What I really want to ask is  
Something else _

(Call a Joker right now!) _why am I alive?  
_(Call a Joker right now!) _what do I live for?  
_(Call a Joker right now!) _I'll take back my lost dream_

 _I'll take an angel's wings and fly away!_ Oh yeah!

_The seven Pleiades set the frozen time free  
Wild dance, shadowed festival, foreign song ensue  
As flames of expiation light the heavens  
The lion's roar echoes far and wide  
Five skulls glow in the depths of the earth  
The holy cross shines high up in the sky  
Once the star comes to a complete halt  
The Maia Maiden's heart stops with it  
What then remains is paradise on earth  
Marking the end and a new beginning"_

During the performance, Maya and Yukino joined them, waving as they watched Tatsuya and Eikichi hold the crowd back.

When Ginko finished, however, amongst the applause, Maya gasped.

"Lisa's part…was that the Oracle of Maia!? Aha! So that's the whole thing!" She cried.

"The Oracle…? You mean whatever thing that King Leo scumbag was talking about!?" Yukino cried, just as shocked as the reporter.

"There has to be a reason they had her recite that in the song…" Tatsuya bit his lip as he tried to figure out just what the Masked Circle wanted.

That was the moment the cheers died down and Ginko stepped forward to speak.

"I'm sorry if this comes as a shock, but to be honest…I can't speak English at all." She admitted. She walked closer to the audience, Sheba and Mee-ho not too far behind her. "I know that's weird, given what I look like. But I feel like lying to you all…and lying to myself, wasn't cool. So I won't anymore." As Ginko looked from Sheba to Mee-ho, who both nodded to her, and back to the audience, Tatsuya took out his lighter and flicked it, feeling a proud smile form on his face.

"Good job, Ginko." He whispered.

As if she heard him, Ginko smiled brightly at the audience.

"Thank you all so much for listening to this weird girl's song…" She bowed then, causing more cheers to erupt from the audience, who pushed against Tatsuya and Eikichi, sending Tatsuya back towards the stage and Eikichi to the ground.

"Owww…huh? What's this? They're all over the place…" Eikichi said, looking under the concert hall seats.

"Eikichi-kun?" Maya asked, curious. She knelt beside him and Tatsuya looked over Eikichi's shoulder.

"Check it out, Maya-san. There's something weird under all the seats." The Boss pointed out, pointing out the objects he spotted, which Tatsuya couldn't see clearly...

Maya let out a gasp as she shot to her feet and backed away, panic in her eyes for a brief moment before she turned towards Ginko and waved her over.

"Psst, Lisa! The show's over! Don't panic, but you need to tell everyone to leave the hall immediately! It's full of…" Maya explained, her voice only loud enough for her and Ginko to hear at the end.

"Whaaaat!? BOMBS!?" Ginko screamed and, with her microphone still on, it rang throughout the concert hall.

It took a moment for it to set in, and Tatsuya could only register it through his own rising fear, before the entire crowd screamed and fled the concert hall in a massive panic.

Then Tatsuya heard the clapping. Without even thinking, he took his katana out from under his jacket and held it at the ready. He could see Yukino raise her razorblade at the same instant.

And what he saw was a man wearing a Masked Circle mask, with a yellow gem this time, and wearing a black coat with a yellow scarf.

"A moving performance, Lisa-kun. The more a catch struggles, the more endearing she is…you really know how to light my fire." Ginji's voice said and Tatsuya felt like slime was crawling down his spine.

Instantly, Ginko and Eikichi were at the ready, Ginko slipping her gloves on even while still in her white Muses costume and Eikichi spinning his machine gun into his hands.

"Ginji Sasaki!? That costume…you're one of them!" Ginko cried.

"That's right…I am Prince Taurus. I must thank you. Through your work, the 'foreign song' has been fulfilled." Ginji Sasaki- _Prince Taurus_ -declared.

"That star is much too distant to be called 'foreign', I'd think…" King Leo's voice said and Tatsuya looked up, only to see the man himself standing on the catwalk above the stage. "You boasted of converting the entire crowd to the Circle, gathering all their energy at once, and this is the result? Fine words…"

With Prince Taurus' back turned, Tatsuya, Yukino, Eikichi and Maya climbed onto the stage to stand by Ginko, ready to fight.

"Hmph…regardless, the crystal skull will soon be filled." Prince Taurus scoffed as he turned back towards them, showing no surprise at them being so near. Then he pulled out a yellow crystal skull, identical to the one Anna and Yasuo held at Kasugayama's Masquerade. "The energy of humans yearning after an idol was greater than I imagined. I'll make in time for the End of Nahui-Ollin."

"What's your ultimate aim in harvesting people's dreaming hearts with those skulls!? What is this 'End of Nahui-Ollin'!?" Maya demanded.

"If you want to know, I have a game for you." King Leo declared. Tatsuya's blood ran cold at those words.

"And just what _is_ this game?!" Tatsuya demanded, his eyes narrow and his fear hidden.

"My duty is to ignite the flames of expiation to the lands shown by the celestial heavens. Four pillars of fire will rise…hahahaaaa! One is here…scour this hall to discover the next target…somewhere here, you shall find a gracious riddle!" King Leo laughed, taunting them. "Hahahaaaaaa…hyaaahahahahahahaaaaaa! Hurry, whelps! This park will soon be engulfed in flames!" With those words, King Leo vanished in a circle of red.

"Tch…pointless inference…well, now you know, Lisa-kun. With what little time remains, let us dance!" Prince Taurus declared as his Persona resonance increased, becoming highly noticeable.

"Sheba, Mee-ho! Get back!" Ginko cried and the two girls, thankfully, listened to them.

"Haha…now what, Lisa? If you don't hurry and defeat me, you'll burn to death along with your friends." Prince Taurus said, a smirk in his voice.

"Oh, I'll protect Sheba and Mee-ho alright! And I WILL beat the crap out of you!" Ginko snapped.

"Lisa! Let's get this over with!" Yukino reminded them.

"No time, gotta end this quickly!" Tatsuya added, his grip tightening on his katana.

"We shall see about that!" Prince Taurus taunted before he raised both his hands in the air and summoned his Persona, a complete reverse of Eros.

Suddenly, Earth surrounded Tatsuya's arms and threw him back, towards the edge of the stage. He grunted, feeling the chunks of rock that broke off digging into his face.

"Chinyan!" Ginko cried before she glared at Prince Taurus. "Come, Jack Frost! Bufula!" The little snow man appeared and Ginji grunted as he was thrown back, ice crystals clinging to his coat as the largest part of the ice that attacked him vanished.

"You look cold, let me help warm you up!" Eikichi grinned before he summoned Hel and unleashed Hellfire, melting the remaining ice clinging to the Executive and leaving singe marks on his scarf.

"You'll regret this! Reverse Eros!" Prince Taurus shouted before he casted his magic, aiming for Yukino. "Marin Karin!"

"Yukki!" Maya cried, jumping forward to push Yukino to the stage, out of range of the spell.

"Thanks, Maya-san." Yukino said as she stood back up. "Tatsuya! Maya-san!"

"Right!" Tatsuya answered and he, Yukino and Maya acted in unison.

Maya raised her twin pistols and shot off as many rounds as she could, getting hit after hit on Prince Taurus and leaving stray bullet holes in his coat and even denting his mask. With him distracted, Yukino and Tatsuya were able to sneak up on him before shooting out at the same instant, using their razorblade and katana respectively to cut out at the Executive in two different directions at the same time, crossing him in a straight x.

At the moment Prince Taurus stumbled backwards, Maya summoned Maia and casted Feral Claw, cutting into the Executive's stomach with a fierceness of a big sister.

"I'm growing tired of this!" Prince Taurus snarled as he summoned Reverse Eros once more and casted Dark Magnara on them all, dark rocks knocking into them all and sending them to the stage floor.

"Funny, so are we!" Eikichi grinned, wiping the small amount of blood from where he bit his tongue away. "Ginko!" He summoned Hel once more and casted Hellfire, followed closely by firing off several rounds of his machine gun.

"I've got him!" Ginko shouted as she landed a punch in Prince Taurus' gut and then smashed both hands on top of his head before summoning Jack Frost to freeze him where he stood. "Chinyan!"

"Watch out!" Tatsuya warned before he summoned Vulcanus and casted Balzac, the almighty attack cutting into the Executive.

"Here goes, let's end this!" Yukino cried before she summoned Marshal Tianpeng and casted Double Pincer, the spear the Persona carried digging into Prince Taurus' gut not once, but twice, sending him to the floor.

"Ngh…I underestimated you…however…!" Prince Taurus grunted before he teleported himself further up the stage, the crystal skull once more in his hand. "Mami-kun! Miho-kun! Put on your masks! Or do you want to go back to your ordinary lives!?"

At those words, the two girls came back onto the stage, staring up at Prince Taurus.

"Sheba, Mee-ho, don't!" Ginko cried. She ran towards them, attempting to stop them, but Tatsuya was focused on the Executive. He jumped up onto the stage and swung his katana, but Prince Taurus simply teleported away and activated the skull the moment the girls placed their masks on, stealing their dreaming hearts and leaving behind two Shadowmen in their place.

"Hahaha! Their modest dreams will be used as a foundation for opening 'Heaven's Gate'! Farewell, Lisa-kun!" Prince Taurus laughed.

"Bastard…!" Tatsuya snarled as he shot forward to attack him again, but Prince Taurus vanished in a circle of yellow right before Tatsuya's strike could connect. "Dammit!"

"That psychotic bastard…he's set bombs in town too! We need to hurry and find the next target and get out of here!" Yukino urged, her voice drawing Tatsuya's attention away from where Prince Taurus had once been and down to the rest of his friends.

Ginko was on the floor before Sheba and Mee-ho, looking for all the world like she had lost the most precious thing in her life. Maya was behind her and standing further behind both Maya and Yukino was Eikichi, who was radiating anger on Ginko's behalf. Tatsuya could understand why, the Boss had gone through the same thing with his own friends, after all.

"I…I never believed in my friends…but Sheba and Mee-ho believed in me…I…I…!" Ginko sobbed as she tried to express herself, guilt and regret obviously overwhelming her.

Maya knelt beside her, laying a hand on the blonde girl's shoulder.

"Stand up, Lisa! You have to do what you can right now! You can apologize later." She said. "You tried to protect them, right? Don't worry…once they wake up, I'm sure all will be forgiven."

"We won't let this be the end, we'll change them back." Tatsuya swore as he walked down the stairs back to them. "But to do that, we have to save everyone else in this building and figure out the next target."

"Right…yeah, that's right!" Ginko nodded, wiping her tears away and standing up with a new fire in her eyes, one Tatsuya had never seen before. "I won't let that bastard set off those bombs, I refuse to die here! Let's find that riddle!"

"That's the spirit!" Maya grinned brightly. "Alright, let's get going!"

* * *

And so, after a brief stop in Muses' dressing room to let Ginko change back into her school uniform, they ran through the whole concert hall, checking every room as thoroughly as possible to find the promised riddle, knowing time was _not_ on their side.

Finally, however, Tatsuya found a riddle and a note from King Leo in a locker in one of the dressing rooms.

"Guys! I found something!" He called and everyone gathered around him. There was no time to focus on the riddle now, but the note Tatsuya read aloud. " _'Come to the next target, if you can figure out where it is. Many sparks have been laid, but only the remote transmitter will set them off.'_ "

"Alright, you win this round, Tatsuya, let's just get the hell out of here!" Eikichi patted Tatsuya on the back.

"Let's go grab Sheba and Mee-ho first!" Ginko cried.

With nods of agreement, they ran all the way back to the stage where Ginko and Maya grabbed the two Shadowmen girls and fled the concert hall.

* * *

As soon as they hit the pavement outside the concert hall, the bombs went off, the explosion so intense that it sent all of them to the ground, no doubt with soot and ash covering them now.

"That was close…we made it just in the nick of time." Eikichi sighed in relief, laying his forehead against the ground briefly before pushing himself off and dusting off the soot and ash.

Before anything else could be said, however…

"NOOOOO! Th-the fire! Help me, Daddy! My hands…my hands are burning!" Maya screamed, clutching her head as she remained on her knees, tears falling from her eyes as her body trembled mercilessly.

Yukino was instantly up and kneeling at Maya's side, her hand on her shoulder in an attempt to ground her.

"Maya-san!? Wh-what's wrong!? Calm down!" The photographer begged, worried.

"Maya-san…you're not where you think you are, you're safe…" Tatsuya gingerly reached out and laid a hand on Maya's shoulder blade. Maya nodded, still trembling even as she took deep breaths. With both Tatsuya and Yukino's help, the reporter stood up and held her still trembling hands out for them all to see the burns covering her hands.

"What the-those burns on your hands…what in the world…?" Yukino raised a hand to her beanie, almost too shocked for words.

Ginko ran forward right away, a Dia spell at the ready, but Maya just backed away, trembling and looking so very far away.

"What's with her all of a sudden!? You gotta do something, Tatsuya!" Ginko cried, her eyes so full of worry. Tatsuya nodded, trying to remember how Katsuya used to bring him out of his own nightmares, before everything went wrong.

Gently, and in Maya's line of sight, Tatsuya reached out both hands and laid them on her shoulders. Despite having seen the movement coming, Maya still startled and stared up at him with eyes that were seeing something none of them could.

"Maya-san, it's me. Tatsuya, remember? Ginko, Eikichi and Yukino-san are here too. We're here to help you, so don't try too take this all on yourself. Remember, you're not there anymore, you're _here_ , with us." Tatsuya gently reassured her.

Slowly, Maya's eyes cleared as she came back to herself.

"I'm sorry…I'm…I'm okay now…I'm just…so scared of his fires…shameful, isn't it…?" Maya said, turning her head away to avoid all of their eyes.

"It's okay, Maya-san. You're not alone. We're all here and we'll protect you." Tatsuya smiled.

"Yeah, Maya-san! Like you protect us." Ginko nodded in agreement, her voice gentle and calming.

"That's right! There's no need for you to carry this alone." Eikichi added as he stepped closer so they encircled Maya.

"Trust us, okay, Maya-san?" Yukino placed a motherly hand on Maya's shoulder.

"Thanks, Tatsuya-kun, everyone. You're all so kind…I'm okay now." Maya smiled slightly at them, looking a bit closer to her normal self. Tatsuya nodded and removed both of his hands from her shoulders. "Sorry about that, everyone. C'mon, we need to find the Masked Circle's next target! Let's see here... _'Twelve beasts crown the Pleiades. When the winds of change blow, all descend with smiles to the netherworld…'"_

For a moment, they were all silent until they collectively shook their heads in confused frustration.

"What the hell? What is this thing getting at?" Eikichi groaned, kneading the bridge of his nose.

Just then, footsteps drew their attention and Tatsuya furrowed his brow as he spotted Ms. Ideal, of all people, running up to the burning concert hall.

"The 'foreign song'…the 'flames of expiation'…it can't be anything, but the Oracle of Maia! B-but who…!?" She cried.

The five shared a wide eyed look of shock before Maya pushed herself out of their circle and approached the teacher, who apparently knew more than she was letting on.

"Excuse me…you're Ms. Okumura from Sevens, right? My name is Maya Amano, I'm with Coolest's editorial division." The reporter introduced. "You mentioned the Oracle of Maia just now…do you know something about it? If you don't mind, I'd like-"

Ms. Ideal reared back before she got right in Maya's face, causing the reporter to cut herself off in surprise at suddenly having the teacher _so close_.

"H-how do you know about the Oracle!? Only Kashihara and I know about it…us and Sudou-kun…!" Ms. Ideal whisper shouted. Before any of them could say a word, however, the teacher suddenly gasped and backed away, staring at them with wide, fearful eyes over her sunglasses. "D-don't tell me you're part of the Last Battalion…!?"

"Uh…" Maya looked lost, turning to them for help, but all of them were just as lost and confused as she was. Of course, as soon as they turned back, Ms. Ideal was suddenly in _Ginko's_ face.

"Lisa Silverman…!? S-so that's it…!" The teacher cried. "Sneaking a spy in with the students to deal with Kashihara and me too…dirty bastard! Nasty mongrels and minions of the Fuhrer!"

Without so much as another word, Ms. Ideal ran away, leaving five _very_ confused Persona users in her dust.

"Wh…what was that all about!? She seemed to know a lot…" Maya trailed off, rubbing her forehead in confusion.

"We can get back to her later. Let's hurry to the next target right now!" Yukino urged. "This Oracle is probably an occult thing. A friend of mine knows a lot about that stuff, so I'll try calling her up." At that, Yukino stepped away and dialed a number on her cell phone. A few minutes later, she came back over to them with a big smile on her face. "I got through to her. She's gonna meet us at Double Slasher in Aoba. C'mon!"

And without another word, they let Yukino take point and lead the way, Ginko and Maya grabbing Sheba and Mee-ho as they did so.

It was just barely nine in the morning…and the day had only just truly started.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there we go! Now some explanations!
> 
> The couple Tatsuya spotted are important to a degree...if you can catch on to who they are, not names of course they're not canon characters, then I'll give you a treat.
> 
> Now, as for Fujii, he is a character involved in the plot so he KINDA needed to be introduced before his involvement was necessary, so I improvised based on the dialogue you get if you go to Kismet in the game and talk to him. Yes, Yukino does have feelings for him, but there is a reason Yukino/Anna is considered canon for this story.
> 
> As for the Joker song, the parts that are not indented are actually in English and I used the full English translation so you can all understand it!
> 
> Hopefully the fight scene was better this time...I like how this one came out, in any case. Oh! And what do you guys think of how I'm writing Tatsuya? This is the part of the game where he starts playing a more active role in the story (him going after Prince Taurus when Sheba and Mee-ho became Shadowmen, for example, is entirely canon and not controlled by the player at all), so I decided to let him start talking a bit more, take on more of a leadership role so his personality in EP makes sense.
> 
> And next time, you guys get to meet another P1 character!
> 
> I think that's everything...Bye!


	7. The Reincarnated Warrior

Barely nine in the morning and Tatsuya was running behind Yukino to meet up with one of her high school friends in order to figure out how to stop _bombs_ from going off.

So just a regular day.

As they ran past Sumaru TV Station, however, a hand suddenly shot out and pulled Yukino inside.

"Yukino!" A man wearing a red leather outfit with a baggy purple turtleneck zipper jacket underneath, orange sunglasses and tan shoes. "What just happened and why is Elly telling me to not expect her tonight?"

"Calm down, Hidehiko, I can explain." Yukino reassured, which brought on a whole world wind of introductions and explanations. By the end of it all, Hidehiko-or Brown, as he insisted Tatsuya and the others call him-was smiling in a more relaxed, open manner.

"So it was the Masked Circle that torched the concert hall." Brown mused. "Seeing as how they torched the police station too, I think this is far from over."

"Hidehiko's a lot sharper than he looks." Yukino smiled proudly.

"They did what?" Tatsuya cried, his eyes widening. Katsuya…his _brother was supposed to be working today!_

"These constant terrorist attacks…what a violent world we live in now. I hear that the culprits are five youngsters…just awful." A woman with long dark hair, which covered one eye, and wearing a green dress that Tatsuya recognized as the actress his mother loved, Junko Kurosu, shook her head as she interjected into their conversation.

But nobody paid her any attention.

"Tatsuya-kun? What's wrong?" Maya asked, concerned.

"Tatsuya…?" Ginko whispered, looking thrown off.

"Man, talk to us, what's going on?" Eikichi questioned.

But worry had consumed Tatsuya and it made him react irrationally. Not even Vulcanus in the back of his mind could stop him and he was running before he could think to stop.

He just…he had to know…yeah, he and Katsuya didn't get along well all the time, but no matter what, Katsuya was his _brother_ and Tatsuya could never leave him alone without knowing if he was okay.

It didn't take long for Tatsuya to reach Kounan, or to find Katsuya standing outside the police station, which was burned to the ground.

But Katsuya…Katsuya was alright…

"Brother…" Tatsuya whispered as he came to a stop near his brother, staring at him and feeling like a little kid all over again, even if he _was_ an inch taller than him now.

"Hm? Oh, it's you, Tatsuya. Didn't think I'd see you here. You probably know already, but our HQ was destroyed. What a disaster!" Katsuya, obviously stressed and angry at what had happened, groused. "The police should be the first line of defense for the civilians, but we're powerless with our HQ burned down! I never saw it coming. By the way, what are you doing here? You better not be sniffing around to satisfy some childish curiosity of yours!"

"No, just…wanted to check on you…" Tatsuya awkwardly admitted, feeling incredibly childish considering he'd ran over at the first sign of trouble.

"Tatsuya!"

"Tatsuya-kun!"

Several voices shouted behind them and Tatsuya turned, even more embarrassed to see all his friends _and Brown_ chasing after him.

"Are you okay?" Ginko asked, worried.

"Man, don't rush off like that, when-" Eikichi cut himself off when both Ginko and Yukino elbowed him roughly in the side.

"Tatsuya-kun, who's this?" Maya smiled pleasantly, effectively distracting Katsuya, though Tatsuya doubted this would be the end of it with his brother, detective that he was.

"My brother." Tatsuya nodded, which earned him a half joking glare from said brother until he turned back to Maya and held a hand out to her.

"Katsuya Suou. And may I ask who my little brother has befriended?" The detective asked, perfectly courteous. Tatsuya rolled his eyes behind his back.

"I'm Maya Amano! And these are Lisa Silverman, Eikichi Mishina-kun and Yukino Mayumzumi!" Maya happily introduced them all. "It's so nice to finally meet some of Tatsuya-kun's family!"

"Yes, well, I'm glad he's making some friends." Katsuya smiled and, Tatsuya noted with surprise, it was a _real_ smile, the one Katsuya used to show Tatsuya when his little brother would proclaim his big brother was the best chef in the world as a kid. "Now, please, all of you go find somewhere to hide. You'll just impede the investigation."

"Of course, Detective, and we were just doing that when your brother got worried for you." Yukino smiled reassuringly. "We'll be going now."

"Good investigating to you, Officer!" Brown winked.

Tatsuya didn't say a word, but sent his brother one last look over his shoulder as he followed the others to Double Slasher to meet with Elly and figure out the rest of this mess they found themselves in.

* * *

"Hi, Yukino! Long time no see. I'd say you're looking well…" A woman with a bob haircut, wearing a long sleeved tan jacket over an orange turtle neck shirt with a jagged black lining, tan shorts and tan and black boots, greeted them. "And Brown as well, I wasn't expecting you."

"Figured I couldn't leave my lady all on her own." Brown winked in an exaggerated manner, causing Elly to giggle.

"Sorry to drag you out here when you've got work to do, Eriko." Yukino greeted her old friend, hugging the giggling model. "These are the guys I told you about over the phone. My partner Maya, Lisa, Eikichi, and Tatsuya."

"It's nice to meet you all. I'm Eriko Kirishima." Elly smiled. "I see you even managed to find my wayward boyfriend."

"Oh, my Elly, always so charming!" Brown jokingly exclaimed, wrapping an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders.

"Sorry to cut right to the point, Eriko, but that stuff I told you about…" Yukino cut in.

"Sure. I was thinking it over on my way here." Elly nodded before she led them towards a computer. "Would everyone mind taking a look at this monitor?" They all gathered behind her without a word as the older Persona user sat in front of the computer.

"That's…an overhead view of Sumaru City, yeah?" Yukino asked.

"Indeed it is. I think this Leo fellow's riddle is based on astrology!" Elly grinned brightly.

"' _Twelve beasts crown the Pleiades. When the winds of change blow, all descend with smiles to the netherworld…'"_ Maya recited once more.

"The line, _'Twelve beasts crown the Pleiades'_ , refers to the twelve signs of the Zodiac, with Pleiades at the center." Elly explained.

"Pleiades…wait a sec! Does that mean Sevens…?" Ginko gasped.

"That's right! From the first line of the riddle, we know to draw the Zodiac circle with Seven Sisters High at the center!" Elly happily clapped her hands together as she explained.

"Okay, then what about the next part? What's _'when the winds of change blow'_ supposed to mean!?" Eikichi asked, excitement catching in his eyes.

"The second line most likely indicates a direction. There's a particular wind sign that presides over aspects of change…" The model hummed. "That would be Aquarius. On the circle, that's west-by-northwest from Seven Sisters High…so the next target is Hirasaka!"

"That's amazing, Eriko! But Hirasaka is a pretty huge place…we still need to pinpoint a location." Yukino squeezed both Elly's shoulders with her hands.

"' _All descend with smiles to the netherworld…'_ " Maya repeated once more. "I get it. The descent into the netherworld is about Yomotsu Hirasaka from Japanese myth…it's a play on words."

"Spoken like a true journalist! There's no doubt that the third line is a riddle as to the exact location in Hirasaka." Elly praised. "Unfortunately, I'm not that familiar with Sumaru City's environs. So I can't deduce anything further as yet…"

"That's okay! You've done more than your share! We'll figure out the rest on our own. Grazie, Eriko-san!" Maya reassured.

"You're quite welcome. I'll stay here and ponder the Masked Circle and their riddle a little more." The model smiled.

"I'll stay and help too! Be sure to give us a call if you need any backup!" Brown grinned brightly, winking. "We'll start calling up the others too! I think Maki's in town…if you spot her, give us a holler!"

"We're counting on you, Eriko. Your insight will help us see things we'd overlook." Yukino smiled, taking one of Elly's hands and one of Brown's in each of hers. "You too, Brown. If we need any help, I know we can count on you to have our backs." She then turned back to the others. "But there's no time to waste! Let's go, Tatsuya, Maya-san!"

"I think I have an idea to the answer…" Tatsuya thought aloud. "Eikichi, do you think…?"

"If you're thinking the same as me, then yeah." Eikichi nodded in agreement.

"And where is that?" Ginko questioned, hands on her hips.

"Let me just check something…" Tatsuya shook his head as he made his way over to a different computer and typed a message to Baofu, a Rumormonger, just to confirm…

When the info panned out, with a security picture to boot, Tatsuya shared a look with Eikichi and nodded in agreement.

"Alright, everyone! Let's rock!" Eikichi grinned.

"To SMILE Hirasaka." Tatsuya smiled slightly.

* * *

As soon as they reached SMILE Hirasaka, it seemed Maya had a plan. Now, whether Tatsuya approved of that plan was up to debate, considering…

"Dude, this is the ladies' room. Are we even allowed in here? What're we gonna do?" Eikichi whispered in Tatsuya's ear, conveying his thoughts entirely as he stood with him and the three girls in the girls' bathroom in SMILE Hirasaka.

"I have no idea, but I'd rather trust Maya-san. Otherwise Ginko will punch our lights out." Tatsuya whispered right back, to which Eikichi nodded in furious agreement. It was only with Maya's blessing that the two boys were there and the murderous intent in Ginko's eyes had died as quickly as it had, plus the pressing situation.

"We need to evacuate the customers before we can go looking for the transmitter. Can I borrow your lighter, Tatsuya-kun?" Maya asked, drawing all attention back to herself as she held a cigarette between her fingers.

Tatsuya hesitantly took out his lighter and flicked it before he nodded. He trusted Maya, after all.

"Here." He said, igniting the lighter and holding it out so Maya could carefully light the cigarette. Once the flame caught, Tatsuya instantly doused the flame and returned his lighter to his pocket, keeping one hand on it at all times. It was…reassuring.

"Huh? I didn't know you smoked, Maya-san." Ginko pointed out as Maya held the cigarette aloft.

"I don't, actually. I swiped this cigarette from my roommate." Maya corrected with a shake of her head.

"A roommate? Ooh…do you have a Chinyan?" Ginko asked, her voice taking on a teasing tone as she used her occasional nickname for Tatsuya.

"Sorry to disappoint, but my roommate's a girl." The reporter laughed. "Ever since I started at Coolest, I've been too busy for a boyfriend. I'm pretty much married to my job!"

"Houshounah! That sounds awful! I don't think I'd be able to stand it." Ginko huffed out, practically shivering at the idea.

"Is that so weird? My brother's the same way." Tatsuya mentioned, just curious to the response he'd get.

"Maybe it's different for men, but I think it's harder for women." Ginko shook her head.

"I don't think of it as a limitation. It's been my dream since I was little to be a journalist, so my life's pretty fulfilling." Maya disagreed, still smiling brightly to show her words meant no offense on Ginko's own opinion. "I live for my work! Right, Yukki?"

"For work, huh…? I don't really know what most people live for, I guess." Yukino smiled. "But at the very least, I like to think I'm living to make my dreams come true."

"It's strange…when I'm with Maya-san, I'm reminded of the 'Big Sis' I see in my dreams." Eikichi commented and something about his words caused Tatsuya to look at him as shivers ran down his spine.

It seemed Ginko shared the same feeling, her eyes wide as she stared at Eikichi.

"Eikichi, those dreams-" She started to say.

"What're you kids doing in here!? And you, Missy! No smoking in the restrooms!" A woman, obviously the cleaning lady if her supplies were anything to go by, scolded them all as she spotted them when she came in. Before another word could be said, the fire alarm suddenly started blaring. "Oh! Oh my! I told you so! You awful kids!" The cleaning lady berated them.

"Pardon them for my sake, sweets. C'mon…can't you forgive and forget at the request of such a beautiful specimen?" Eikichi requested, his voice smooth like honey as he posed in front of the cleaning lady, winking at her.

Considering where they were…this obviously failed.

"Aren't you a boy!? Oh my goodness! Pervert! Pervert in the stalls!" The cleaning lady shouted. At that moment, Tatsuya was glad he wasn't anywhere near her as she began to swing her mop, which she held in one hand while a bucket was in her other hand, at the blue haired boy.

"P-pervert?" Eikichi repeated, all smoothness gone as he stared at the woman with wide eyes before he started dodging her mop.

"I feel bad for him…but why don't we leave this place to Eikichi-kun? We need to hurry and find the transmitter!" Maya whispered to the remaining three.

"We can cover more ground if we split up to look for it. Let's each take a floor!" Yukino suggested, her voice just as quiet.

With nods of agreement, the two high school students, reporter and photographer snuck out of the ladies' room and made their way to search the entire building as quickly as possible.

* * *

Unfortunately, they had no luck in finding the transmitter _at all_ and Tatsuya could feel the first rings of panic rising within him at the thought that he and Eikichi had been _wrong_ as they frantically returned to the ladies' room they'd left Eikichi in to collect him and move to the next possible site of the bombing.

When they entered, the cleaning lady was still berating the blue haired boy.

"You can put on all the makeup you want to try to sneak a peek into the ladies' room…but I'm not fooled!" The woman cried, still swinging her mop fiercely.

"Hon, how many times do I have to say it? I'm not a pervert, I'm a rock n' roll star!" Eikichi sighed, sounding exhausted.

"You're still at it?" Ginko sighed, sounding as exhausted as Eikichi.

That was when Tatsuya became aware of a quiet…sound…almost like ticking.

"Hey, everyone shush." He quietly hushed them all, looking around to find the source of that sound.

"What's the matter, Tatsuya?" Yukino asked quietly before she seemed to hear it herself. "Huh? That sound…"

Quiet as mice, all five began to move around the restroom, trying to find where the sound was coming from. Maya stepped close to the cleaning lady and suddenly cried out as she stole the bucket the woman held.

"Here they are! A riddle and a remote transmitter!" The reporter shouted.

"How much time do we have!?" Yukino demanded instantly.

"Um…f-five minutes!?" Maya stuttered, looking unsure of what to do from here as she instinctively dropped the bucket and backed away.

"How did you not notice this!?" Ginko shouted, whirling on Eikichi, her glare furious. Tatsuya wasn't sure the Boss would escape that murderous intent this time.

"H-h-how was I supposed to know!?" Eikichi stuttered, obviously scared.

"You sure are a strange bunch. What's all this fuss about?" The cleaning lady questioned, completely oblivious despite carrying the _transmitter_ until a few moments ago.

"E-excuse me! That transmitter in your pail…where did you find it!?" Maya stuttered as she stared at the pail as if it was about to explode.

"Oh, this clock? I fished it out of the trash in the men's room a minute ago. Perfectly good clock, don't know why it was there." The cleaning lady mused as she picked her bucked back up.

"That's not a clock! It's a timed detonator for a bomb! You need to give that to us right away!" Maya frantically pleaded.

"What nonsense is this now? You just want my clock! Well, too bad, because you're not fooling me!" The oblivious cleaning lady sniffed, turning her nose up at them.

"Ma'am, please, we're running out of time!" Tatsuya pleaded, ready to start begging or worse.

Maya, it seemed, was of the same mind.

"This is an emergency, so we have no choice. We'll have to resort to force!" The reporter declared.

Tatsuya prepared to charge forward and restrain the woman, when-

"Hahahahaha…" An unfamiliar male voice laughed. They all fell silent as they tried to find the source…only to hear a toilet flush from a stall a moment later.

"A man in the women's stalls!? How dare you! Get out of there, you pig!" The cleaning lady demanded, waving her mop at the closed stall door. The door opened and the cleaning lady backed away in fear. "I-it's a monster!" And with a scream, she fled the restroom, throwing her bucket over her shoulder as she did so.

"Looks like an assassin from the Masked Circle. Careful, everyone!" Yukino cried in warning, her razor blade already out and ready.

That was the moment the monster stepped out.

"My name is Belphegor…the seeker of harmony on Earth, and Duke of Hell presiding over indolence…" The monster, Belphegor, introduced himself almost…pleasantly. It was weird. Very weird. "You won't be taking that transmitter! Come out, men!"

Just then, four more stalls opened and four red robed figures wearing the mask of the Masked Circle stepped out, lining up behind Belphegor.

"Master, that's your cue…" Belphegor said as he stared at another stall. Nothing happened for a long time, causing the monster to cry out. "Master! MASTER!"

Another toilet flushed before a young girl stepped out in what looked like a cosplay costume. Tatsuya had no idea who she was supposed to be, but she wore a mask with a red gem in the center of her forehead and a red cape that was connected to what appeared to be a gold plate resting against her chest, so she probably worked for King Leo and was also probably a Persona user. Lovely.

"I am Ixquic, reincarnated warrior of the Masked Circle!" The girl, Ixquic Tatsuya supposed, proclaimed. She then turned to the masked people behind her. "Heyyy, everyone! The evil demon tamers are here, just like the great King Leo's oracle said they'd be!"

"Glory to the mask!" The no doubt Leo troop cried, raising their left hands like…Tatsuya remembered seeing pictures of that pose in his history textbooks when learning about World War II. To see it now, in this context…

He was starting to like this less and less with every day that passed.

Ixquic turned back towards them and held the giant golden sword in her hand (which Tatsuya assumed was fake cause _what the hell is a thirteen year old doing with that big of a damn sword?_ ) out towards them as if to attack them.

"You fiendish demon tamers who seek to destroy the world!" The girl proclaimed. "You…uh…ummm…hm? Hold on a sec." Ixquic then took out a script and held it out to Belphegor, pointing at a certain word. "Hey, um, Belphie? What does this say?"

"That would be 'immemorial', Master." Belphegor answered.

"The magical warrior Ixquic, reincarnated since time immemorial, will whoop your ass with divine retribution!" Ixquic said a bit robotically as she read the words from the script in her hand. She then stuffed the script away and held the sword aloft over her head. "Demon tamers! Be banished to the darkness from whence you came!"

"Glory to the Mask!" The Leo troop cried as they once more raised their arms while Belphegor clapped for his master.

Not a single one of the five said a word and instead, Tatsuya made his way over to the bucket and began to mess with the transmitter, hoping that rumor about him being good with machines he'd heard would help him…defuse a bomb.

How did this become his life…?

"Master…it seems they're paying us no heed." Belphegor noted.

"YO! DEMON TAMERS! Don't turn your back on a reincarnated warrior of the Masked Circle!" Ixquic shouted and she _really_ wasn't helping Tatsuya's concentration.

Tatsuya was tempted to say something, but Maya spoke up first.

"Be a good girl and don't get in our way, m'kay, sweetie? You should hurry out of here too!" The reporter urged, using what Tatsuya mentally dubbed her big sister voice.

"Did you hear that, Belphie!? This old hag is treating a magical warrior like a plain ol' little girl!" Ixquic cried as she looked at her demon friend.

"O-old hag…!?" Maya stuttered, shocked at how she was being referred.

Thankfully, however, she bought Tatsuya just enough time as he cut the last wire and the numbers counting down closer and closer to zero vanished. He fell back with a sigh of relief before he pushed himself up to his feet.

"Hoisamuro! You did it! That's our Tatsuya! I knew you could do it!" Ginko cheered happily.

"Thanks, Ginko." Tatsuya smiled slightly as he felt the pressure of the bomb activating fall off his shoulders. Now that _that_ was done…

"Looks like they've disabled the transmitter after all! What should we do, Master?" Belphegor questioned.

"…Now I'm mad! If that's how it's gonna be, I'll blow the whole building with this remote transmitter!" Ixquic cried, holding exactly that in her hand.

"Stop that right now! If this building goes, you'll die along with it!" Maya cried, causing the girl's movements to pause, if only briefly.

"Psh, I don't care." The girl, the _thirteen year old girl_ , scoffed. "My family and classes are all just a pain…there's nothing good about being alive! The reincarnated warrior Ixquic lives for justice, and she'll die for it too! Only that will satisfy me!"

At those words, Maya marched right up to Ixquic, grabbed the transmitter out of her hands and slapped her across the face, hitting her skin around the sides of the mask.

"Don't…don't you ever treat death like a joke!" Maya shouted, furious. "You have the power to change your own environment! Your own future! Shrugging that off and saying you'd rather die just shows how immature you are!"

Ixquic stared at the reporter silently for a moment, her hand clutching her no doubt red cheek, before her hand dropped.

"Huh, good point…" She shrugged. "…NOT! You're totally senile if you thought I'd listen to that! My generation _hates_ being preached at!" Suddenly, a resonance washed over Tatsuya, confirming his thoughts on this girl. "I'll never let you interfere with Master Leo's plan! I may not have a transmitter anymore, but I got my Persona!"

"I think someone needs a good spanking…" Maya mused as Eikichi quickly summoned Rhadamanthus to cast Malaqua on all the Leo troop member in the back, sending them to the ground in unconsciousness, leaving only Ixquic and Belphegor to be dealt with.

"It's whoop-ass time!" Maya and Ixquic declared in unison.

"Hey! Copycat! I came up with that first!" Ixquic whined as she swung her sword unhappily.

And, of course, that was the moment Belphegor lost his patience, shooting towards Ginko with a growl, mistaking her as the weak point.

"Gigantic Fist!" The demon cried as his fist met Ginko's cross guard. Ginko grunted as she stumbled back a bit, but quickly righted herself and swung up her right leg in a strong round house kick that sent Belphegor's head flying to the side.

Using the moment of distraction, the blonde girl raised her arms to summon her Persona.

"Jack Frost!" She shouted and the little snowman appeared, casting Bufula and leaving the demon's feet frozen in that single place.

"Hey! You leave Belphie alone!" Ixquic cried before she swung her sword high above her head in a pose similar to Maya's and shouted, "Reverse Pairika!"

The winged Persona morphed out of her body and casted Magarula, blowing them all away from Belphegor.

"Focus on the demon first!" Tatsuya cried as he caught himself and summoned Kinich Kakmo, casting Fire Breath to melt the ice keeping Belphegor in place and leaving burns on his legs in the process as he stumbled back.

"Good plan, sorry kiddo!" Eikichi said right before he swung his guitar case at Ixquic, knocking her into a stall door and leaving her dizzy before he summoned Hel. "Magnara!"

At the same instant, Ginko summoned Eros and casted Mamagna, so the two Personas sent rocks towards Belphegor, holding him down and cutting into his skin, causing the demon to cry out.

He wasn't trapped long, however, as he casted Gryva, destroying the rocks and sending a shock wave out at the Persona users.

"Don't forget me, demon tamers!" Ixquic shouted as she summoned Reverse Pairika once more. "Zanma!"

The attack was aimed at Maya, but Yukino grabbed her arm and flung her away, taking the blow for her.

"Sorry, kid, but this isn't a fight we can lose." The photographer apologized as she summoned Marshal Tianpeng, casting Straight Slash and embedding the spear the Persona carried into the wall through the girl's cape, keeping her against the wall.

"You too, Belphegor. We gotta say ciao now." Maya apologized before she summoned Maia and casted Feral Claw, the attack actually whacking the demon over the head.

"Belphie!" Ixquic screamed.

"Please go on, my master…" Belphegor wished before the attack hit, sending him collapsing to the ground.

"Nooooooo!" The girl screamed as she instinctively summoned her Persona and sent all of the Persona users flying into the walls of the restroom.

"Shit! What now?" Eikichi cried.

"Aiyah! We really pissed her off!" Ginko gaped, shocked.

"Then we just have to finish this fast!" Maya answered. "Hit her with everything you've got!"

Maya went first, calling on Gandharva to cast Agilao, causing the girl's cape to come away singed.

"Tatsuya-kun!" Maya cried as she jumped back. Tatsuya quickly met Ixquic's strike of her sword with his katana before pushing it away, feeling her still manage to nick his arm, but it was no big deal. He then called on Kabandha to bash the girl on top of the head.

"Eikichi!" Tatsuya cried as he felt the next Zanma Ixquic cast hit him. Eikichi slid in next to Tatsuya and quickly summoned Otohime and casted Ice Breath, causing ice crystals to stick to Ixquic's sleeves and mask. Even still, the girl summoned her Persona and casted Stun Claw, which Eikichi just barely managed to deflect with his guitar case.

"Ginko!" Eikichi cried as he rolled away. Ginko met Ixquic head on, quickly punching her incoming swing away with a sure fist before summoning Fjalar with a confident movement, casting Wing Flap to briefly list Ixquic off her feet before dropping her back down, stunning her enough to not retaliate.

"Yukino-san!" Ginko cried as she stepped aside. Yukino twirled her razor blade in her fingers, nicking a small cut in Ixquic's arm before she summoned Vesta and casted Frei, causing a small nuclear attack to go off, sending Ixquic hurtling into the wall and then crumbling to the ground.

"Oh, no! I was too hard on her!" Maya cried as she ran up to the girl worriedly. Quickly, she bent down and began to wrap some of their supplied around her injuries, bandaging the cuts she sustained and putting some ointment on the bruises too. "…all better!"

"Is it okay to leave this chica be? She didn't seem very sorry…I wouldn't be surprised if she came back to harass us again." Eikichi asked.

"She must have never had any proper adults play with her…don't worry! If that ever happens, I take full responsibility." Maya smiled unrepentantly.

"In the meantime, we've got this riddle to figure out." Tatsuya stated as he held out the riddle that had been with the transmitter he disabled.

"Let me call up Elly then." Yukino said, quickly dialing the number and putting the phone on speaker.

" _Hello, Yukino? Did you find the second riddle?"_ Elly asked over the phone.

"That you, Eriko? Yeah, we got it. This one says…" Yukino trailed off as she began to read the riddle aloud. " _'Twelve beasts crown the Pleiades. When the spring of death and rebirth gushes, the way to El Dorado opens from dream's cape.'_ "

" _Hmm…the first line is the same as before, so the only question is the rest of it."_ Elly hummed thoughtfully. _"Going by the same logic as before, the sign of water that presides death and rebirth…that would be Scorpio. In other words, head north by northeast from Seven Sisters High, so the next target is in Yumezaki!"_

"Good job, Eriko! We can take it from here now that we have an idea where to go." Yukino grinned before she hung up.

"' _The way to El Dorado opens from dream's cape…'_ " Maya reread. "El Dorado, huh? It translates to 'golden one'…is there anywhere in Yumezaki with a name like that?"

"We can't waste time here thinking on it. Let's figure it out on the way!" Ginko urged.

They all nodded in agreement and ran out of the building as their time limit began to beat down on them once more.

It was getting close to noon and there were still at least a few bombs left to stop. No pressure at all, of course.

Tatsuya still wondered how this became his life, honestly, but…outside of the fear and pressure, he was having fun and wouldn't change it. Especially because it brought him people like this, like Eikichi, Ginko, Maya and Yukino.

And…someone else, though who, Tatsuya couldn't _quite_ place, but he'd know them as soon as they'd met, he just…had a feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again, everyone! Are you all doing okay? Everyone taking care of themselves? I really hope you are, this situation is scary, but it will be okay! In the meantime, I've had some time between my online classes and work, so I hope this can help cheer you up if this quarantine has you scared or worried!
> 
> And of course, P5R is gonna be out soon! That's also a reason to celebrate and the quarantine gives you a good excuse to play it more!
> 
> Anyways...
> 
> For those of you who know more about P2, yes, in game it's Lisa who suggests going to SMILE Hirasaka, but I figured it'd be better for Eikichi to figure out since he lives in Hirasaka.
> 
> Well, I don't have much else to say about this chapter...I'll see if I have time to post again before P5R comes out (for those of you who know, yes I've already started the first chapter of my P5R fic, so look forward to when we finally reach that story again!) and in the meantime, all of you please stay safe and do your best to stay healthy! We'll all get through this, so just take care of yourselves, wherever you are!
> 
> Welp, that'll be all for now. Maybe I'll see you again soon!


	8. A Golden Encounter

As they left SMILE Hirasaka, worry and fear clinging to each of them, a sudden growl made them all pause.

Tatsuya _knew_ it hadn't been him doing an impression, so he turned towards where he heard the sound come from (dreading a demon that snuck up on them), only to find…Maya grinning brightly at them as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"Whoops! Sorry! I forgot it was so close to lunch time." The reporter smiled.

As if waiting for those words, Tatsuya felt his own stomach grumble in complaint. He was pretty sure Ginko and Eikichi did too, if the embarrassed looks on their faces were any indication.

"What am I going to do with you all…?" Yukino sighed in a long suffering way as she pulled her ostrich beanie down.

"Aw, come on, Yuuki! The world isn't going to end if we take a short lunch break!" Maya smiled brightly. "Besides, the Jolly Roger in Kounan is amazing and Master always has the best deals! Plus he's a rumormonger to boot, I bet he can help us narrow the next location down!"

"We didn't figure out the target was SMILE Hirasaka with the rumors, but fine." Yukino agreed. "Maybe I'll call up Maki to meet us."

"Maki? Who's that?" Ginko asked, curious.

"She's an old classmate from St. Hermelin. She fought alongside me three years ago. She mentioned she was gonna be doing a residency at Hiiragi Psychotherapy a little while ago, so maybe…" Yukino hummed as she dug her phone out of her pocket and called a certain number. A few minutes later, even Yukino was smiling brightly. "Alright, Maki's got a half hour lunch break, so we can take a half hour before we go back to work."

"Yay!" Maya childishly cheered before she looped an arm through Eikichi and Ginko's own and pulled them in the direction of Jolly Roger, Yukino and Tatsuya right behind them.

* * *

When they reached the restaurant, a woman was standing outside waiting. When she saw them approach, she smiled and waved at Yukino.

"Yukino, it's been a while. You look well." The woman greeted.

"Thanks, so do you, Maki." Yukino smiled as she gently hugged her friend.

The woman, Maki, had her brown hair in a pixie cut and light brown eyes. She wore a white coat with intersecting gray lines over a gray shirt and skirt, black leggings and white boots.

"Ah, so you're the friends Yukino mentioned? Well, any friend of Yukino's is a friend of mine." Maki smiled.

It was that moment that Tatsuya sensed her Persona, Vulcanus almost shuddering at the resonance it gave off, one touched with guilt and yet determined to atone for a sin he could not recognize.

He was drawn out of his musings, however, as Eikichi nudged him with his elbow.

"I didn't know Yukino-san was friends with someone so pretty. I wonder if she was super strong in battle? She doesn't look like it." Eikichi whispered to him.

"I'm guessing you shouldn't underestimate her just cause she's pretty." Tatsuya muttered back and let out a motorcycle sounding snort when Eikichi shot him a wide eyed look in return.

"Come on, let's go eat before Maki-san has to get back to work." Maya urged them all inside. "I'll even pay, promise!"

And with that promise in mind, they all spent a relatively nice lunch together, with Maya, Yukino and Maki questioning Master about any rumors as they got drinks from the bar (non-alcoholic mostly, of course) and they all ran ideas back and forth as they ate.

"So you've narrowed it down to two locations…?" Maki asked as their time was winding to an end.

"GOLD or Silver Pachinko." Ginko nodded with a sigh, leaning against her hand as her elbow was propped up on the table. "Seoi Lo, these riddles are hard…"

"It's definitely harder than the last one, it basically spelled out 'smile' after all." Yukino sighed in agreement.

"What if we're looking at it wrong? What if it _is_ spelled out again?" Maya suddenly said, her eyes widening as she seemed to have an idea.

"Maya-san? Did you think of something?" Tatsuya asked, curious.

"Maybe…" Maya hummed.

"Well? Tell us, Maya-san!" Eikichi begged, his eyes pleading. "Otherwise, we'll never figure this out."

"El Dorado…'golden one'…" Maki hummed as she repeated their main clue.

"That's it!" Maya gasped as she sat up straight and hit the table with her fist.

"What's it, Maya-san?" Yukino asked, startled by the sudden hit.

"I think I figured it out!" The reporter grinned brightly, her eyes sparkling as she quickly moved to pay the bill so they could get going.

"Aiyah! Where?!" Ginko cried as she stood up herself, the others all following quickly.

Maya turned back to them with a grin that rivaled the sun.

"To GOLD!"

* * *

They ran all the way there, but had to rely on Maya in order to actually _get inside_.

"Isn't security here a little too tight if we need a current member to vouch for us just to take a peek inside…?" Eikichi sighed as the four others watched Maya talk to the receptionist.

"Kinda, yeah. We're lucky Maya-san's roommate has a membership." Yukino nodded in agreement.

"I think it's _because_ of her roommate that she figured the clue out, even." Tatsuya mused as he crossed his arms.

The others nodded in agreement as they waited with almost baited breath. Everything relied on them getting inside, after all.

"I apologize for the wait. You're the ones Ms. Ulala Serizawa referred to us? Please go on in." The receptionist finally smiled as she waved them on.

"Thanks." Maya smiled before she made her way back to them and her smile fell. "Looks like Ulala's here. I should stop by the boxing ring and tell her to evacuate."

"Probably better we do that first, keep everyone from freaking out like in Aoba." Ginko nodded in agreement, wincing at the memory of her concert.

"Right. Lead the way then, Maya-san." Yukino gestured, which the reporter eagerly did, a serious air hanging over her once more.

* * *

They found the boxing ring easily enough and Tatsuya was the slightest bit startled as he finally saw who he assumed was Maya's roommate.

The woman had vivid red hair with a bun rolled at the top of her head with the strands resembling a star and white highlights, as well as purple lipstick. She wore a dark green blouse and matching skirt, both with a black spiderweb pattern and black boots, with two bright red boxing gloves covering her hands, which she was currently using to punch the stuffing out of a punching bag.

Once she finished, she removed one of the gloves to reveal bandaged covered hands as she took a drink from a water bottle, spotting Maya just then and grinning.

"Ciaaaaaao, Ma-ya! What's with the high school entourage? They don't look like they're here to box." The woman, Ulala if Tatsuya remembered right, greeted.

"Uh, about that…" Maya trailed off before she told the whole _long_ story that the last few days had been.

Unfortunately, it was a _bit_ too out there, it seemed.

"Huh!? You're kinda young to be going senile, Ma-ya. Come on, there's no way there'd be bombs here." Ulala scoffed. With that said, she turned back to her punching bag and got back to her workout.

"Well…that was…anticlimactic." Ginko stated quietly, looking from Ulala to the rest of them.

"I'm not sure what's worse: this or the explosive reaction and possible carting off to a mental hospital I expected." Eikichi mumbled, looking just as awkward.

"The latter, the latter would be much worse." Tatsuya muttered, already imagining how his _brother_ would react if he told him the full story. He'd probably kill Tatsuya, actually. Or lock him up and get him help.

"Agreed." Yukino sighed, hiding her eyes with her beanie once more, as if she couldn't deal with this right now.

"I don't blame you for being skeptical, but it's true! There's no time! Hurry and get out of the gym!" Maya insisted, practically begging her roommate.

At that moment, the punching bag suddenly broke as Ulala gave it one last hard punch and something fell out. Eikichi ran over to check out the damage to the punching bag.

"…seriously!?" The blue haired boy cried in disbelief when he noticed what fell out and bent down to pick it up. "Huh? What's this?"

Ginko ran over then to check it out as well.

"Aiyah! Isn't that a detonator!?" The blonde girl shouted, causing panic to ripple down all their spines. Ulala rounded on Maya.

"You weren't kidding about the bomb thing!? Tell me again what's going on, Ma-ya!?" The redhead cried, now thoroughly terrified.

"Like I said, there's no time! All I can say for sure is that this organization called the Masked Circle set them!" Maya frantically explained.

"The Masked Circle!?" Ulala shouted, her eyes widening. "That, I've heard of…Makimura used to talk about them all the time. Let me guess, he's out for my blood now!? Sounds like the time has come to put these fists to use…he took my savings, but I won't let him take my life!"

With that said, and as fast as lightning, Ulala ran out of the gym, intent on hunting down this Makimura person.

"…there she goes. I hope she remembers to get out of the gym." Maya sighed. "Anyway, now that we know this is the next target, we don't have a second to lose. Let's find that transmitter!"

With nods of agreement, they got to work.

* * *

They began searching the whole building (while informing people as they went along about the bombs so they evacuated) and made sure to check every nook and cranny.

When they reached one supply closet, however, Tatsuya noticed something and reacted entirely on instinct.

"Maya-san!" He shouted as he pushed her further into the room a second before a barbell suddenly fell…right where she had been standing.

"A barbell!? Th-this isn't funny…I'd be dead if that had landed on me!" Maya cried as she turned towards the barbell, still on the floor with Tatsuya laying beside her. She was breathing heavily as the last residues of fear and panic slid away. "G-grazie, Tatsuya-kun…I owe you one."

"Maya-san, are you okay!?" Ginko cried as she quickly checked Maya over as she helped her stand up, as their resident and strongest healer.

"I'm fine…really." Maya tried to smile. "Let's just focus on finding the transmitter."

"Still, that was cool, man! How'd you do that so fast?" Eikichi asked Tatsuya.

"I just…reacted. It was instinctive, like summoning my Persona." Tatsuya tried to explain. It was hard, but…this was just how he was.

"Still, good job. Now, let's find that transmitter." Yukino nodded firmly as Ginko gave Maya her seal of approval.

Unfortunately, when they reached the _next_ supply closet, the same thing happened, this time to Eikichi and it was _actual exercise equipment and not just a weight_.

Somehow, Tatsuya was able to keep both of them safe, but if this kept up, he'd end up pretty bruised even _without_ fighting anyone. Freaking fantastic. They needed to find that transmitter. _Now_.

It took a few more rooms, but they finally managed to find the transmitter and a riddle in a locker in the male's staff room.

"Got it!" Yukino cried as she pulled it out of the locker.

"Did you find it!? Awesome! Good job, Yuuki! Now, let's destroy it!" Maya grinned brightly.

"Here, let me." Tatsuya offered as he took out his katana, since Yukino's razor blade wouldn't be strong enough to do the job. Nodding in agreement, the photographer set the transmitter down and Tatsuya destroyed the transmitter with two good swings of the katana. "There, that's done."

Just then, the doors to the men's staff room opened and a man backed into the room, not looking back as he did so. When he _did_ turn around, however, his eyes suddenly widened and he fled without saying a single word.

"Who was that?" Ginko asked, confused.

"Seems odd that a normal person who hadn't yet evacuated would run off after seeing us like that…" Yukino mused.

"In that case…I bet he's a Masked Circle member who was guarding the transmitter! C'mon, Tatsuya, let's get him!" Eikichi cried, always ready to fight.

"Yeah, let's go." Tatsuya nodded in agreement.

* * *

They chased the man all the way through the building, ending up back in the boxing ring where they had met Ulala only to find the man had his back to them.

"Here you are! Why'd you run after seeing us? You're in the Masked Circle, huh!?" Eikichi cried as he swung his guitar case containing his machine gun at the ready.

The man turned around then and Tatsuya got his first good look at him. The man was handsome, but Tatsuya didn't think he had much else going for him, honestly…he seemed like the type to think his looks alone could get him through life and, considering the situation they were currently in, was probably a slime ball at the least, if not an asshole.

Still…didn't mean Tatsuya couldn't find him handsome.

"Run away? You got the wrong idea. I just wanted to go somewhere quiet so I could talk to you in private." The handsome man smiled and, yes, definitely a slime ball.

"How considerate of you. If you behave yourself and answer our questions, this should be a short chat." Yukino smiled, her voice soft, but with a threat underlying the words, which was enough to set any sane person on edge.

"Ah me, brave lady. Would that we had met in different circumstances. But I must accept this as my fate." The handsome man sighed, obviously acting like some sort of tragic hero in a play, as a Persona resonance washed over Tatsuya's skin. "I'm under orders from our Queen…you will all die here!"

Before anything else could happen, however, the door opened and the handsome man went as white as a sheet. Curious, Tatsuya turned, surprised to find Ulala standing in the doorway.

"Ulala! You're still here!?" Maya cried, shocked that her roommate hadn't listen (Tatsuya wasn't, she seemed the type to not give up so easily).

Ulala ignored her roommate as she approached the handsome man, her eyes sparking with the most fierce anger Tatsuya had ever seen and she raised her still gloved fists, looking ready to murder the son of a bitch.

"H…honey!? I-I'm so glad to see you again! Not a day went by that I didn't think of you!" The handsome man stuttered as he backed away the slightest bit.

That was when _another_ resonance filled the room and even Vulcanus startled at the fierce anger that this Persona contained as its user spoke.

"Can it, creep. Now that I found you, you're a dead man…this is for all the wedding funds you stole!" Ulala growled as she raised her fists, ready to fight with them and her Persona both.

The handsome man turned even whiter, if that was possible, and fled the boxing ring without a single word, Ulala on his heels without even a goodbye.

Tatsuya almost felt sorry for him…but the guy was obviously a slimy son of a bitch so he didn't care too much.

"I had no idea Ulala was a Persona-user…!" Maya gasped as she finally seemed to snap out of her shock induced silence.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned…who knows what girls a beautiful man like me has wrought tears from…?" Eikichi sighed, wiping a false tear from his eyes. "We should both be careful, Tatsuya."

"Uh…sure, whatever…" Tatsuya said, turning to avoid his friends' gazes, feeling his cheeks warm. It got a bit worse when he heard Maya giggle while Ginko and Yukino just sighed in exasperation.

"Let's see what riddle we got this time, then." Yukino said as she took the riddle out of her pocket. Ginko walked towards her and looked over her shoulder to read it.

"' _I'll be waiting at the Aerospace Museum in Kounan. -King Leo.'_ It's not a riddle! The next target is written here plain as day!" Ginko cried as she finished reading it.

"I don't like this at all…we're dealing with King Leo here. Couldn't it be another trap?" Yukino pointed out as she tucked the riddle away.

"Even if it is, the location is written pretty clearly here. He wants to settle things with us too…" Maya trailed off.

"It's your call, Maya-san. We'll do what you say." Tatsuya stated, rubbing his thumb against the lighter in his pocket, if only to give him just a bit more courage.

"Now's not the time to be scared…I won't run, not anymore. Let's go, guys!" Maya declared, nodding firmly with resolve clear in her eyes.

They all nodded in agreement at that. They'd been following King Leo's whims for far too long…it was time to face him and take control of this situation, once and for all!

And if something in Tatsuya's heart told him that they were approaching a cliff, an edge from which they could not return, well…he didn't think he could stop anyway. He couldn't just stand by when people were in danger.

Besides, it was still only close to one thirty in the afternoon and they still had time to finish this, hopefully once and for all.

But again, his heart protested. This was not the end, it was only beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, I am just in time to post right before I start playing Royal (tomorrow morning...so close...so close...!) so, happy Royal release everybody! I hope those of you who can play enjoy returning to the world of the Thieves with our lovely new characters joining the story and those of you who CAN'T play it, I hope you find a good playthrough on YouTube!
> 
> Now, this chapter is short (less than 3,000 words and written all in one night). I even made it longer by bringing Maki in, but still short. Oh well, this is what happens when I limit chapters to a dungeon a chapter. But we get major plot progression next chapter, so look forward to it cause the heart of the story is just starting!
> 
> I can't tell you when I'll be updating again though, as my time will now be divided between school, work and Royal, so bear with me for a while, okay? And everyone stay as healthy and safe as possible!
> 
> Oh yeah, quick confirmation ahead of time: the handsome man (yes, he is referred to that in game, yes, Tatsuya is most definitely a bi disaster) IS the Makimura Ulala mentions, if that's not obvious. He dated her and proposed to her and they were supposed to be married, but he conned her out of all her money through the 'wedding funds' so of course she wants to kick his ass. Yes, he was a con man from the start. And yes, he is referencing Queen Aquarius.
> 
> I think that's everything...make sure to stay safe! Bye!


End file.
